Sharon Ponton has played sports her whole life. As a health and physical education teacher and student activities leader at her local high school, Sharon says that much of her present leadership, confidence and self-esteem has come from her lifelong participation in sports.
Though access to team sports is available at the high school level, her community does not have these resources at the middle school and elementary school level. On top of that, it has a high poverty rate compared to other schools in the county.
What if her community offered free volleyball clinics led by high school mentors to these young girls, and student translators were present for non-English speakers? What if young girls without financial means or access to transportation often required to play team sports could learn to play volleyball with no charge in a safe and encouraging environment with other girls?
Sharon was the recipient of the Pepsi Refresh Project $5,000 grant in April, which will fund her free volleyball clinic for girls. The money will help buy T-shirts and volleyball equipment and spread the word about this program to the surrounding community. Already, registration forms have been translated into Spanish, and plans are underway to translate the forms into other languages.
“Our high school represents countries from all over the world, and we speak 39 languages here,” Sharon says. “The ability to reach out and connect to these families is tremendous because it’s non-threatening, fun, and the kids enjoy it. Because volleyball is not very well-developed in our community for the lower levels, what we’re trying to do is community outreach for the families and the young kids in the area.”
Since receiving the grant, Sharon’s free volleyball clinic is already slated to begin at the end of June and continue throughout July.
Sharon says she hopes these girls will reap the positive benefits of athletics- both physical and emotional. After all, as a physical education teacher she has seen first-hand what active sports participation can do for self-esteem.
“I’ve had students who weren’t necessarily college-bound in their thinking even though they were certainly capable,” Sharon says. “But they’ve gone onto college, and for at least two of them, volleyball has been the avenue that’s gotten them into college.”
This post originally appeared on www.refresheverything.com, as part of the Pepsi Refresh Project, a catalyst for world-changing ideas. Find out more about the Refresh campaign, or to submit your own idea today.
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