The Engage Foundation kicked off their second annual Youth Co-ed Touch Rugby League this fall, hosting over 60 kids for six weeks of fun, free and safe rugby coaching, training and games. Each kid who participated in the program received a free rugby ball, jersey, photograph, athletic bag and water bottle. Engage also provided thirty pairs of cleats to kids that needed them with proper fitting and selection courtesy of “The Shop” (On Campbell between Ft. Lowell and Glenn).
Kids came from all over Tucson, including the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Tucson, Boys and Girls Clubs of Tucson, Pascua Yaqui Tribe and military. Engage even hosted students from the Arizona Schools of the Deaf and Blind, each league day had an interpreter on site to help coaches communicate with deaf students through sign language. Many parents of the participants applauded Engage’s program, stating that it was the first time their child had ever had an opportunity to play in a sport or belong to a team.
Headed by Matt Schmidt, Engage is a nonprofit that teaches kids how to engage in life by providing new, free and safe opportunities to participate in activities that are challenging, inspiring and underrated. In addition to providing these recreational opportunities, Engage implements life skills like family, respect, passion, preparation and service into its sessions. Engage’s mascot is The Pack (Passionate, Active, Committed, Kind), a group of different desert animals working as a team to accomplish the same goals.
Engage is in the process of planning an exciting schedule of events for 2019. For more information, visit www.engagearizona.com or visit the Engage Foundation on Facebook.
Engage has had incredible local support from Schmidt, Sethi & Akmajian, the Tucson Conquistadores, Casas Adobes Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, the Chardukian-Goldstein-Cox team at RBC Wealth Management, The Volpe Team at NOVA Home Loans and Umbrella Social Media.
