Steelers Of D-Town

Steeler Creed: 1God 1Family 1Love 1Nation- Steeler Nation!

Steelers of D-Town Youth Sports and Mentorship Organization was established in 2014 to create a safe haven for youth in Dallas, Texas. Our team of mentors works closely with 120 African American and Latinx youth ages 4-13 from low-income communities by providing them with opportunities to learn and grow into well-rounded individuals and community servants. Our programs center on youth sports, academic tutoring, and group mentorship. We provide underserved youth with an opportunity to participate in football, basketball, cheer, and dance. We also provide free academic tutoring and mentorship.

It is our mission to encourage and cultivate teamwork, leadership growth, and respect within our inner-city youth through athletics and fundamentals of life skills. The Steelers of D-Town encourage each child to enjoy and appreciate life with sports through positive competitive competition, and we also instill confidence, personal responsibility, and sportsmanship.

We have seen improvement in our youth in their academics, character development, and athleticism. Not only are they begin impacted, but we instill principles in them about the importance of being impactful. One of the impactful lessons we teach is giving back to the community through community service projects. This teaches the youth hard work, responsibility, leadership, and teamwork.

Most recently due to the pandemic, many of our youth need more positive experiences which encourage physical fitness, academic achievement, and consistent mentorship. We do not want our youth to fall through the cracks, so we are continuously striving to meet their diverse needs.

Our Needs

Athletics:
We need sports accessories and equipment for football, basketball, and baseball season. This includes pads, gloves, balls, jerseys, and other training equipment.

Building Renovation:
We are currently renovating our new physical space which will serve as a hub for our activities. COVID-19 paused many of the efforts due to more needed funded for the renovations. We need funds for supplies such as kitchen fixtures, paint, lights, and technological equipment. We also need donated funds or time for construction and plumbing.

Academics:
In the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been predictions concerning exacerbated learning loss for low-income students since they have been away from in-person instruction during the pandemic. We are striving to revitalize our learning lab for students to use as they transition back to in-person learning. Since many of our students are considered low-income and at-risk, providing them with technological devices to complete their homework assignments will be of great benefit. The Pew Research Center stated in a 2021 report that 43% of low-income families do not have access to home broadband services and 41% do not have access to a desktop or laptop computer. With the addition of technological devices in our learning lab, we are closing the digital divide for low-income families including their children.