Mark Your Calendars: Fuel the Future Coming Up December 7th — Sport Oregon Voices

Sport Oregon Voices: Sport Oregon presents its second-annual fundraising event to support programs and initiatives to break down barriers to play, empower youth in underserved communities

With the season of giving upon us, Sport Oregon is encouraging everyone to help make a difference and join in its efforts to break down barriers to play and empower youth in underserved communities to build valuable life skills through sport. As a night to benefit its foundation, Sport Oregon is presenting its second-annual “Fuel the Future” virtual event on Tuesday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. PT.

This year’s event comes on the heels of a successful launch to “Fuel the Future” in 2020, and will include inspiring stories from the four partner organizations directly impacted by funds raised through the event: Friends of Baseball, Playworks, Street Soccer USA and the Sport Oregon Youth Series.

The 2021 “Fuel the Future” – hosted by former professional track athlete Sasha Spencer-Atwood and special guests John and Anna Canzano – will offer a variety of ways for people to make an impact through giving, including an online silent auction culminating with the live virtual program, paddle raises, and text-to-give options during the broadcast. The event will be streamed on the event website and broadcast live locally on KGW. A user-friendly, live-giving option will be available during the virtual program on Dec. 7 through the “Donate” button on the event site.

Registration for the live event and silent auction, which begins Tuesday, Nov. 30, is now open. Included among the many auction items this year are ticket packages from the Portland Trail Blazers, Portland Thorns FC, Portland Timbers, Portland Winterhawks, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Mt. Hood Meadows, Green Bay Packers, Las Vegas Raiders, and the Prefontaine Classic.

In addition, a host of sponsors – headed by PNC Bank – have stepped up in support of this year’s event, including Ideas Collide, KeyBank, the Meredith Corporation (FOX 12), Phillips & Company, Providence Heath & Services, The Standard, UBS, KGW and the Trail Blazers.

This year’s “Fuel the Future” will benefit the Sport Oregon Foundation and feature four different partners focused on healthy physical activity, inclusion, and historically underserved populations. That group includes the Sport Oregon Youth Series, a series of free track meets across Oregon that helps kids build confidence and character through track and field while breaking down barriers to participate.

Friends of Baseball enhances children’s lives through baseball’s power to reach, providing tools and encouraging kids to swing for the fences, on and off the field. Playworks encourages kids to stay active and build valuable life skills through play by helping schools and youth programs create recess and play environments where every child can join in. Street Soccer USA fights poverty and empowers underserved communities through soccer, with the goal of transferring life skills and creating a social safety net for its participants in the community.

For an organization like Friends of Baseball – whose focus is on providing programs and scholarships, equipment distribution, field improvements and training coaches – a fundraising event like Sport Oregon’s “Fuel the Future” is imperative to supporting its efforts.

"Sport Oregon was with Friends of Baseball from our beginning, providing fiscal sponsorship for the first few years after our founding,” said Nova Newcomer, executive director for Friends of Baseball. “That early support and legitimacy for our work in the community made it possible for us to grow our impact until we were in a position to become our own independent non-profit. And Sport Oregon continues to fuel the work we do in the community with sponsorship and grant support that have helped fund critical initiatives for equitable access to baseball and softball."

Last year, “Fuel the Future” raised more than $250,000. But Sport Oregon has loftier goals in 2021, with an ever-increasing need to address deficiencies in access to sport in the state.

“The need for support has never been greater than it is now,” said Cory Hansen, Sport Oregon’s digital marketing manager who is managing the virtual event. “With a lot of schools and athletic departments dropping programs, it’s critical that we help provide these resources for kids and make sure they have access to play.”

To Get Involved and Tune In
Free registration for this year’s “Fuel the Future” silent auction, which begins Nov. 30, and live event, which will be held Dec. 7, is now open on the event website, https://event.gives/fuelthefuture2021.