Planned Learning Achievement for Youth, Inc.

CONTACT:

P.O. Box 1345
Amherst, MA 01004-1345
413-585-0549
theplayacademy.org

Dennis S. Jackson, President

DESCRIPTION:

Disadvantaged teen-aged boys who lack the skills and education needed to open their lives to larger opportunities, perpetuate poverty for themselves and their families. P.L.A.Y. was founded in 1990 to make a difference, and since then it has boosted more than 500 students up to higher trajectories. Its core program is the P.L.A.Y. Academy, an intensive two-week residential summer program for 50 youths from ages 14 to 19. Basketball is the draw, but to win athletic scholarships, the boys must also make the grade academically. At P.L.A.Y., they attend educational workshops and seminars on preventing crime and violence; they receive 33 hours of SAT preparation conducted by the Princeton Review, and supplementary sessions that prepare them for college and responsible living. After graduation they are tracked for five years and receive continuing support. And it works: 99% graduate from high school, 95% enroll in two- or four-year colleges, and fewer than 1% are involved in the criminal justice system. Putting one young man through this program costs only $3,475 — not high for saving not just one life, but lives around that one as well. Consider the costs of the alternatives!

(2005: HUMAN SERVICES: Children and Youth: Sports and Summer)