Mark Goldberg, 719.532.8436
mgoldberg@calcas.com
79 Schools Catch a 2017 Thomas R. Brown Athletics Grant from California Casualty
San Mateo, CA, April 1, 2017 – Athletes at 79 public schools in 33 states will be gaining a competitive edge thanks to the California Casualty Thomas R. Brown Athletics Grant program. A total of $83,000 was given to help middle and high school sports programs across the country purchase equipment, improve player safety and offset participation fees. Some schools received more than one grant.
The program is named after California Casualty Chairman Emeritus Thomas R. Brown, an avid sportsman himself. Since its inception in 2011, more than 500 schools across the nation have received over $580,000.
The 82 Thomas R. Brown Athletics Grants awarded this year will help:
- Provide participation fees and uniforms for Pennsylvania’s Rochester Middle School basketball team and the high school bowling team, both facing large budget reductions
- Purchase direly needed uniforms and practice equipment for the George Washington Preparatory High School girls volleyball team in Los Angeles, California
- Replace torn and aged practice uniforms, that require athletic tape to hold them together, for the Rittman High School, Ohio, football team
- Buy specialized equipment for the Berg Middle School Special Olympics track and field team in Newton, Iowa
- Supply a new mat to replace a cracked and aging one used by the Greenbrier Middle School wrestling team in Tennessee
A complete list of the 2016/2017 recipients follows.
Many of the schools serve students from economically challenged areas and have experienced financial reductions to their sports programs. School districts across the country, from Minnesota to Florida and Pennsylvania to California, are proposing massive cuts or elimination of athletics to make up for educational budget deficits. The dire impacts on school sports programs are highlighted in two articles, one by CNBC (http://www.cnbc.com/2015/07/29/youth-sports-kids-athletics-are-in-danger.html), and in Public School Review (https://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/hello-budget-cuts-goodbye-sports-the-threat-to-athletics).
“California Casualty has been supporting educators for more than 65 years, and we understand the correlation between participation in sports and higher performance in the classroom,” said Doug Goldberg, Senior Vice President. Statistics show that student-athletes have higher test scores and are much more likely to attend college.
Public middle and high schools with an unmet need can try for next year; applications for the 2017/2018 California Casualty Thomas R. Brown Athletics Grants are now being taken at www.calcasathleticsgrant.com. The deadline for consideration is January 15, 2018.
California Casualty has other initiatives that give back to educators for all their hard work including the Promise to Drive Focused for a chance to win a Ford Focus car, www.DriveSafePromise.com; $2,500 Academic Award, www.calcasacademicaward.com; and $200 Help Your Classroom grants, www.calcas.com/help-your-classroom.
Headquartered in San Mateo, California, with Service Centers in Arizona, Colorado and Kansas, California Casualty provides auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement, firefighters and nurses in 44 states. Founded in 1914, California Casualty has been led by four generations of the Brown family. To learn more about California Casualty, or to request an auto insurance quote, please visit www.calcas.com or call 1.800.800.9410.
2016/2017 Thomas R. Brown Athletics Grant Recipients
| Alabama Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Maine Maryland Minnesota Mississippi | Missouri Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Washington Wyoming |
