The Chicago Fire Foundation was one of three organizations selected as 2015 winners of the inaugural Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Sports Award on Tuesday.
The award, which will see the winners receive $5,000 was given to recipients who showed influential and innovative approaches to using sports to build a culture of health in their communities. The other two organizations honored were the Tony Hawk Foundation and Doc Wayne Youth Services.
Established in 1998, the Chicago Fire Foundation is the first nonprofit created by a Major League Soccer club. To date, the foundation has donated more than $1.7 million in grants and contributions to improve the quality of life in Chicago and its surroundingcommunities through initiatives aimed to assist disadvantaged youth.
In 2015, the foundation announced that its P.L.A.Y.S. (Participate, Learn, Achieve, Youth Soccer) Program would expand from eight to 12 schools in Chicago, serving nearly 400 boys and girls in grades three through five. The program uses soccer to help with social and emotional learning, enabling participants to strengthen their academic performance.
The foundation also participated in the launch of Premier Skills in partnership with The British Council and Premier League, an innovative program that creates safer play spaces and uses sports to promote inclusion and teach new skills.
"On behalf of [owner] Andrew Hauptman and the entire Chicago Fire family, we are incredibly honored to be recognized with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Sports Award," said Chicago Fire COO Atul Khosla. "As an organization, we are committed to being a meaningful community partner and give back to the Chicagoland area. Continued outreach through our programs including P.L.A.Y.S. and Premier Skills has allowed us to help build healthier communities and provide safe play spaces for those in need."
