Reading, Pennsylvania – Mark Sanchez, of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) joined the children and staff members of Olivet Boys & Girls Club’s Mulberry Club on Mulberry Street, Reading, PA. Friday, May 15, 2015.
Born November 11, 1986, the California native is a NFL American football quarterback who joined the Philadelphia team in 2014. He was drafted in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft as the fifth overall pick by the New York Jets where he played for 5 seasons. Prior to pro-football, Sanchez played college football at the University of Southern California (USC).
Sanchez has been involved in multiple charities including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to help raise awareness for Type 1 diabetes and Sam’s Club’s Giving Made Simple which, helps raise awareness about childhood obesity and how families can prevent it.
Vice Chair for Olivet Boys and Girls Club, Eric Savage said “When we have the chance to get Olivet kids in front of a successful leader like Mark Sanchez these kids light up with an understanding of their own potential. Not that they might end up a quarterback in the NFL, but that they can see themselves as finding success in their own lives no matter what they do. These are inspirational moments for our kids.”
More than 28 million school-age children have either their only parent or both parents working outside the home. More than 15 million “latchkey children” go home afterschool each day to a house with no adult supervision, and without the opportunities to learn that afterschool programs can provide.
Over the past 15 years, knowledge of the afterschool field has grown substantially, confirming that quality afterschool programs help children become more engaged in school, reduce their likelihood of taking part in at-risk behaviors or acting out in school, and help raise their academic performance.
Afterschool programs such as the Olivet Boys and Girls Club are flexible, allowing students to further explore their interests; they are social, bringing together students and their friends, as well as peers who share their curiosities; and they are academically enriching, finding new ways for students to take part in relevant, hands-on activities while building academic and workplace skills and knowledge.
About the Olivet Boys & Girls Club:
Since 1898, Olivet Boys & Girls Club has been serving the youth of Greater Reading. We reach out to some of the areas hardest to reach young people. We provide them with a safe, positive, fun environment, supportive relationships, opportunities and expectations, and recognition.
A chartered member of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Olivet Boys & Girls Club serves 3,000 members a year, 1,500 different participants a week and 800 kids a day at seven club sites and six school sites in Reading as well as a location in Pottstown. The Club was founded in 1898. Its mission is “To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as healthy, caring, productive, responsible citizens.
Through the Club experience, Olivet Boys & Girls Club has the power to affect the young people who need us most by helping them to graduate from high school ready for college, trade school, military or employment; be engaged citizens of good character who are involved in the community; and who adopt a healthy diet and practice healthy lifestyle choices. These are the outcomes for which we strive.
For more information about Olivet Boys & Girls Club visit https://www.olivetbgc.org