Y.E.S.

Youth, Education, Sports was introduced In 2002; when the interests of Children of La Paz grew and began to expand into other parts of the world. During an annual trip to La Paz, a simple remembrance video was made for those who joined us on the trip by one of our Grupo members. A copy of that video somehow made it into the hands of a Nike employee, who shared it with fellow employees in Oregon. With a staff of over 3,000 Nike called and requested another copy of video to replace the one they had worn down. Shortly thereafter, Nike accepted our program for sponsorship.

In March of 2003, Nike delivered 19 pallets of sports equipment along with 28,000 pairs of soccer, baseball & basketball shoes. This wonderful donation, sent us off on a mission to distribute equipment, old & new, and shoes to many outreach programs for kids in need and migrant farm workers' kids. Included in this mission, was the desire to expand our clinics & programs to other sports, such as baseball, basketball, soccer, futsal ( Indoor mini – soccer ) softball, tennis & volleyball.

Our first major baseball clinic was held at Raley's Field, Sacramento. Several volunteer coaches and leaders ran clinics and distributed equipment to over 200 kids. Our summer was off to a great start and Included clinics in many neighboring cities and in different sports, with Nike equipment & uniforms. We were also able to distribute shoes, to needy children in different countries around the world, such as Nicaragua, Bosnia, Ghana, New Zealand and Hungary.

YES received non – profit status in December 2003. In 2004, we started leagues for over thousands of kids in Portland, Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland and Sacramento.
In 2005, Stockton and Phoenix were added. The numbers of cities & kids will grow as our fundraising efforts improve and we can reach out to more kids in need. We partnered with Boys & Girls Clubs, PAL, the CHP, and Parks & Recreation Departments all over the state, as they've assisted in setting up leagues & clinics.

2006 started up our Education part of YES, which includes some after school programs and our Music & Industrial Arts Scholarship programs for grammar school children, providing music lessons & instruments. We also provide extended educational programs for deserving high school seniors, to continue their education in the trades. In 2007, we collected 3 truckloads of used & new equipment to distribute in Mexico. Our efforts continue to grow with the support of our communities & sponsors and it brings joy to be able to open up the world of sports to generations of these great kids.