Overview
Starfinder Foundation is a dynamic youth development organization whose mission is to create inspirational learning environments where children are encouraged, through soccer, to develop strong moral character, strive for academic excellence and live with a positive attitude regardless of their socio-economic status. Starfinder currently offers programs for children and youth aged 6-22 throughout the city of Philadelphia and its surrounding area, including Chester, PA. Each of these programs not only provide vital youth development opportunities today, but serve as the building blocks of Starfinder's ultimate vision: to impel youth to imagine and aspire to a lifetime of distinction.
Starfinder Foundation's creative soccer-based model provides a unique opportunity to address a wide variety of significant gaps in programming for children. Starfinder's "Learning Through SOCCER" program combats the growing childhood obesity problem by encouraging moderate to vigorous physical activity two to three days per week and teaches youth to make healthier nutrition choices, engages the growing immigrant population in Philadelphia - largely minority and low-income - whose first point of reference in sports is soccer, rather than more traditional sports like basketball and baseball, promotes lifelong participation in an active lifestyle due to the low cost of playing soccer and the fact that soccer is a sport that will remain accessible to children for the rest of their lives, Intrinsically develops character strengths such as self-reliance, creativity, persistence, decision-making and teamwork, due to the continuous non-stop play, which demands that players on the field make the adjustments that are needed in order to be successful during the game, teaches cultural awareness and sensitivity based on the broad international appeal of the game.
Starfinder's current programs are strategically aligned with local and national partners to have an impact that can be measured in terms of both breadth and depth - broad by engaging as many urban children in the game of soccer as possible, and deep, by taking those most promising and passionate students and providing an intensive, integrated program that addresses their academic, character, social and emotional needs. The goal of all Starfinder programs is to connect a child's love of soccer with his or her development as individuals. By using soccer as a teaching tool, Starfinder can put important life lessons in a contextualized learning model that not only engages and retains the kids, but also shows them that learning can be fun, and that the whole world is their classroom.
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