SHE FLIES Poised for Even Greater Impact in 2022 — Sport Oregon Voices

Sport Oregon Voices: Sport Oregon Foundation initiative introduces new grant program, slate of events to facilitate greater girls and women’s participation in sport

It hasn’t quite been a full year since its launch, but the Sport Oregon Foundation SHE FLIES initiative is really starting to take flight.

Introduced last April through a virtual launch event, SHE FLIES already has grown to include a new community grant initiative; a newly launched, initiative-specific website; and an appealing calendar of special events for 2022 aimed at increasing awareness and support, celebrating girls and women in sports and connecting the many like-minded groups already doing great work to elevate participation.

At its core, SHE FLIES is inspired by a fundamental belief that, through sports, people learn to soar as confident individuals, team players and strong leaders. Further, its mission is to connect girls and women across Oregon to sports, and to create inclusive opportunities through its programs, partnerships and networks.

The issue of girls and women’s decline in sports participation is not a new one. According to studies, girls are two times more likely to drop out of sports participation by age 14 than boys. With this, SHE FLIES includes three main pillar areas of focus. First, it strives to get more girls in the game, specifically by reducing barriers to access and promoting the many positive advantages of participation. Additionally, there is a broader focus on empowering more women coaches in sports, with statistics showing women making up less than 30 percent of youth coaches nationwide. Lastly, SHE FLIES promotes a lifelong, fit-for-life mentality that encourages fitness as a lifelong pursuit for increased health and wellness.

With many resources already available from a variety of like-minded groups, SHE FLIES has been designed, intentionally, as a supporting resource to tackle the issue. Sport Oregon has embraced its role as a supporter, connector and as an overarching entity that can shine a light on the work being done and to further rally the cause. This commitment, notably, includes a significant fundraising element aimed at supporting the many groups and causes already working to make a difference, especially in areas disproportionally affected.

“The health and wellness side is universal for everyone who stays in sports, but when we know that girls drop out quicker than boys, we have to find ways to engage them and keep them involved,” said Chris Van Wagner, board president for Sport Oregon. “The SHE FLIES initiative is a way to raise money that we can then give back to organizations who are doing that exact thing and help them have even greater success at what they’re doing to keep girls in sports.”

As it comes into its own, now in its second year, SHE FLIES has developed a new grant initiative that is set to launch in February. The grant opportunities will be open to groups already addressing the barriers girls face in Oregon. With the full support and collective energy of the Sport Oregon Board of Directors and the organization’s Young Professionals Board (YPB), the new grant initiative is a substantive way to make a direct impact in addressing the issue.

“The SHE FLIES community grant initiative is an opportunity to build awareness to an issue we think is critical – getting more girls and women in Oregon the opportunity to access sport,” said Donna Maleki, a Sport Oregon YPB member who co-leads the group’s SHE FLIES committee. “But also, it is an opportunity to raise funds and to support organizations that are on the ground, committed to doing this work day in and day out.”

Once launched in the coming weeks, groups will be able to submit their grant applications directly on the SHE FLIES website, with grant recipients being recognized in April.  

Additionally, there are three SHE FLIES events currently planned for the coming months, including a SHE FLIES Launch event in conjunction with National Girls and Women in Sports Day. The event, which will be held virtually Thursday, Feb. 3 at 3 p.m. on Zoom, will bring together a panel of speakers consisting of varied ages, sports and levels of competition to compare and contrast how their experiences got them to where they are today, the challenges faced along the way, and how they’ve chosen to make sport such a big part of their lives.

The SHE FLIES calendar also includes a March event in celebration of International Women’s Month, and a SHE FLIES Luncheon in April. The luncheon is the initiative’s signature event that will bring together sports participants, leaders, coaches and supporters to empower girls and women in sports. The luncheon will include workshops, speakers, and the announcement of this year’s grant recipients.

For Van Wagner, one of the rewards of launching SHE FLIES has been the collaboration between the many individuals and groups involved. In particular, the overlapping involvement of the newly established Women in Sports and Events (WISE) chapter in Portland – with many of its members also serving in some capacity with Sport Oregon – has been inspirational.

“The women involved in that program are the exact reason why we want to keep girls involved in sports,” Van Wagner said, “because these are women leaders in many different businesses, and many of them played sports. That’s one of the things we know – that girls that are engaged in sports have a much greater chance of being a leader in whatever organization that they choose to work in.”

In addition to these programming pieces, the SHE FLIES commitment to engaging more girls and women in sport includes additional levels of involvement. A community awards nomination campaign recognizes individuals for their achievements, leadership and for their unique stories in sports. Additionally, the SHE FLIES website offers a convenient way to donate directly in support of programs centered around creating opportunities for sport, movement and play for girls and women in Oregon.

For all involved, 2022 is shaping up to be an impactful year for SHE FLIES, and promises to be another important step in the formation of a long-lasting initiative that makes a difference for generations of girls and women in the state.

“We know that we have the opportunity to drive awareness to these issues and to really rally our community around it,” said Maleki.

SHE FLIES NGWSD Launch Event
The SHE FLIES National Girls and Women in Sports Day Launch event will be held virtually Thursday, Feb. 3 at 3 p.m. on Zoom. The panel of amazing athletes and advocates will celebrate National and Girls and Women in Sports Day – inspiring girls and women to play, be active, and realize their full power. Register for free on Eventbrite.

SHE FLIES Community Grant Initiative
Set to launch in February, the SHE FLIES community grant initiative will be open to non-profits addressing the barriers girls face throughout the state of Oregon. Grant-seeking organizations will be able to submit applications directly on the SHE FLIES website.