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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 2017)
Legendary Author Exposes Funk and Soul Hate Online Delves into anonymous, bigoted speech ‘City of Roses’ See story, page 12 An upcoming date with the Ohio Players See Metro, page 11 www.portlandobserver.com Wednesday • April 5, 2017 Volume XLVI • Number 14 Established in 1970 Committed to Cultural Diversity The Plaza Park Boys’ basketball team, comprised of youth from the Plaza Townhomes apartment community in north Portland, was funded entirely by scholarships from the non-profit group “Off the Sideline.” Their Plaza Townhomes apartments community has rallied behind them, and the team lost just one game this season. Off the The rising costs of participating in school-based sports and after-school ac- tivities is causing more families to opt out, but a Portland non-profit has found a way to get more kids into the game. “Off the Sideline” issued its first sports scholarship one year ago. Today, with the help of organizations like the Volunteers of America, Hacienda, Home Forward and the Boys and Girls Club, more than 80 scholarships to low-income families have Sideline been awarded for kids in grades 5 through 9. The result is that more at-risk youth in Portland can take part in team sports and have access to sports programs to help them become healthy, happy and success- ful in life, activities that can improve their health and fitness levels, help them devel- op positive role models, hone social skills and broaden their community network. The scholarships allow children to par- ticipate in a variety of sports ranging from golf to volleyball. The organization helped Rosa Parks Elementary in north Portland put togeth- er two basketball teams. Across town, the Plaza Park Boy’s basketball team was funded entirely by the scholarships. Their Plaza Townhomes apartment community has rallied behind them, and the team lost just one game this season. Another example comes from Stanley, One year of getting kids into the game a young boy who struggled academical- ly over the past few years, but started to improve on his failing grades when he jumped at the chance to finally play foot- ball. He was required he maintain a C av- erage while on the team and he is now re- ceiving As and Bs, group leaders said. “While other programs support individ- uals or teams with the most athletic prom- C ontinued on P age 5