Nike partners with Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland to bring new gym facility to Rockwood

PORTLAND, ORE. – NIKE, Inc. has made a strong showing of support for youth and families living in the east Multnomah County community of Rockwood. Earlier this month, during a tour for Nike employees of the construction site for the new Rockwood Boys & Girls Club, Jorge Casimiro, Vice President for Global Community Impact at Nike presented Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland Metro (BGCP) CEO Erin Hubert with a check for $150,000. Nike has also provided additional support and in-kind contributions for the facility, bringing the total value of the contribution to nearly $500,000.

“Nike believes in the power of sport to unleash potential, and we’re proud to support Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland Metro build a new gymnasium at their Rockwood facility,” said Jorge Casimiro, Nike VP of Global Community Impact. “Play and physical activity help kids do better in school and in life, yet today’s generation of kids are the least active ever. By providing kids in the Rockwood community a place to play and enjoy sport and physical activity, we’re increasing their chances of success in every aspect of their lives.”

Boys & Girls Clubs intentionally locate clubhouses in communities that are identified as having few services for youth and high populations of poverty. Rockwood has been identified as a critically underserved community with the largest concentration of youth 18 years of age and younger in the broader Metro area. After the 2013 closing of the Police Activities League youth center in Rockwood and identifying the significant void in facility-based services for underserved youth when school is not in session, the City of Gresham began working with BGCP to bring a new Boys & Girls Club to the children and families in their community.

“We continue to be thrilled to welcome Boys & Girls Clubs to Gresham and Nike’s enthusiastic support of this important project is invaluable,” said Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis. “Boys & Girls Clubs and Nike are two organizations that are the absolute best at what they do and the City is proud to partner with them to bring Gresham’s kids the recreational, educational and social opportunities they deserve.”

Nike celebrates a long history of supporting Boys & Girls Clubs around the country. Their continued investment in the Portland-area Clubs provides valuable resources that include support of seasonal sports leagues; sponsorship of programs that inspire Club members to develop healthy and active lifestyles; and bringing families and staff together with youth to foster a love for running through the Marathon Kids program. The Nike Rockwood partnership will go well beyond impacting the lives of the anticipated 250 Boys & Girls Club youth that will attend the new Club each day. The 7200-square-foot Nike gymnasium will be shared by Open School East, an alternative school for youth located adjacent to the Rockwood Club site. The gym will also be host to many other members of the broader Rockwood community to include non-profit partners, sports leagues and the community at large.

“We are truly honored and proud to partner with Nike to bring this new Club to life in Rockwood,” said Erin Hubert, BGCP CEO. “Their investment will not only help us build a first-class gymnasium in our new facility, it is a life-changing investment in the youth who live in this special community.”

The Rockwood Boys & Girls Club is set to open in the fall of 2017 and will serve three major school districts – Reynolds, Gresham-Barlow and Centennial. The new Club will host a wide range of evidence-based Club programming designed and delivered in five core focus areas: Education and Career Development; Character and

Leadership Development; Health and Life Skills; The Arts; and Sports, Fitness and Recreation. In addition to traditional programming at the Rockwood Club, BGCP will deliver evidence-based gang, violence, and drug prevention and resistance programs; and targeted workforce training and placement programs for teens. The Club will also provide health and human services for members and their families, and serve up more than 75,000 hot meals each year.