Disney GOALS - Origins

Origins

GOALS was originally established in 1994 as an outgrowth of the Walt Disney Company's acquisition of the then named Mighty Ducks of Anaheim professional hockey franchise. Since then, this not-for-profit program has expanded into many low-income communities, fielding a combination of educational enrichment, team and fitness-oriented athletics, and community service activities where GOALS youth help others. While GOALS is by far the worldwide leader in providing ice hockey access for minority children, the program has taken major strides in other sports opportunities such as lacrosse, soccer, tennis and roller hockey. Currently, the program involves more than 2,000 youth ages six to nineteen each year. GOALS operates indoor and outdoor facilities and a bus fleet, and provides all necessary equipment, insurance, coaching, teaching, and supplies all at no charge to participating youth. GOALS organizes activities within designated under served communities and links those areas to central GOALS facilities with a community bus network. One of the hallmarks of the GOALS program is that youth are required to serve through a "Summer of Service" in an innovative arm of the program called GOALS Cadets. This initiative leads efforts to read storybooks to children in school, clean up parks, paint out graffiti, through a program called GOALS CityPride, coach disabled young people through GOALS Special Sports, visit veterans at local VA hospitals, and pack food for local food distribution centers that support the poor.

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