Poet-Athlete City
For 30 years, DC SCORES has been empowering generations of young people through soccer, poetry, and service. Now, we are making a bold promise for the future of the District.
We already serve 70% of Title 1 middle and elementary schools in D.C. — by 2030 we want to be in all of them. Help us reach the kids who need us most. Join us in building Poet-Athlete City.
Give to DC SCORES
This spring, our goal is to raise $30,000 to provide programming for young people in Southeast schools in Wards 7 & 8, the wards with the highest competition for out-of-school-time program places.
Our Promise
DC SCORES was born in the District. For 30 years, we’ve been helping young people build strong, supportive local communities through our award-winning after-school soccer, poetry, and service programs.
Now, as we look to our future, we are making a bold promise to D.C.’s youth: to transform the District into Poet-Athlete City. That means building a city where young people have the opportunity to thrive on the field, at the mic, and in their neighborhoods. It means standing up for the local families who are the backbone of our city. It means empowering the next generation of poet-athletes to be confident, resilient leaders.
Our vision for Poet-Athlete City is to reach the young people who need us most. We currently serve 70% of Title 1 middle and elementary schools in the District — by 2030, we want to be in all of them. This spring, our goal is to raise $30,000 to sustain our programming for Southeast schools in Wards 7 & 8. Will you support the poet-athletes who need our program most?
Poet-Athlete City Stories
La'Dae
La'Dae, a poet-athlete at Stanton Elementary in Ward 8, shares how DC SCORES helped her process grief, make friends, and find mentors.
Kimball Elementary
Ward 7's Kimball Elementary is leveraging DC SCORES to build school community and write the history of their Southeast neighborhood.
Hart Middle School
Poet-athletes in the DC SCORES team at Hart Middle School in Ward 8 fought period stigma through service learning.
Why Poet-Athlete City?
Our vision of growth prioritizes Title 1 middle and elementary schools. Schools identified as Title 1 serve a greater proportion of kids from under-resourced communities and often have fewer, if any, accessible out-of-school-time (OST) programs. By focusing on Title 1 elementary and middle school pipelines, Poet-Athlete City will reach the kids who need DC SCORES most and provide them with 8 years of sustained, high-quality OST programming.
DC SCORES empowers kids to build community, connect with mentors, and find sanctuary from the growing risks that many of our young people face. After school is when students are most vulnerable to violence, and DC SCORES offers kids a safe, structured, and joyful alternative. At DC SCORES, 98% of our poet-athletes report feeling safe in our program, while 97% reported feeling more confident after a season of DC SCORES.
We serve our young people 5 days a week, helping them to connect with their school, learn new skills in a supportive, youth-centered environment, and develop a strong poet-athlete identity. DC SCORES gives young people a sense of belonging and self-worth, and builds a community that supports young people well into adulthood. Poet-Athlete City is an investment in the future of the District, and we hope you will join us in building that future, together.
Support Our Work
A gift of any amount will help us reach our target and ensure our programs reach the young people who need us most.