The Minnesota Twins Community Fund (MTCF), long a proponent of empowering the full potential of our youth, was honored today as a 2024 Project Play Champion by the globally-renowned Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program. The MTCF is being specifically recognized for its innovative and industry-leading adaptive youth sports programs, driven by a belief that every child deserves access and resources to play the games they love.
“We firmly believe that youth sports – especially baseball and softball – change lives for the better, and that when we inspire a love of play for all, everyone wins,” said Kristin Rortvedt, executive director of the Minnesota Twins Community Fund. “This ethos drives us each and every day as we challenge barriers that keep kids from participating and take bold steps toward a more inclusive sports landscape in our region. We are excited that the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program is honoring our work, we are beyond grateful to our partners who share in our efforts, and we look forward to ensuring that kids of all abilities can play our beloved diamond sports.”
Launched in 2013, the Project Play initiative of the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program is a multi-stage effort to build Sport for All, Play for Life communities that foster a culture of health. Project Play Champions are recognized for their commitment to innovative partnerships, commitment to quality coaching, exposure to new sports, and increasing opportunities for underrepresented youth. Champions are also aligned with Project Play’s “Eight Plays,” strategies to enhance accessibility and improve quality in youth sports.
The MTCF’s partnership-driven model – using Twins staff and instructors for adaptive clinics, and working with nonprofit partners like Deaf Equity, Special Olympics Minnesota, Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute and NubAbility to ensure accessibility – is unique across Major League Baseball, placing a focus on the needs and wants of the communities themselves. This pioneering approach in which programming is tailored to meet the needs of individual athletes empowers each child and instills a belief that everyone can play, allowing the MTCF to deliver the same quality and fun found across all of its clinics and youth programming.
The Minnesota Twins Community Fund, along with the entire 19-organization cohort of 2024 Project Play Champions, will be recognized at this week’s 11th annual Project Play Summit, the nation’s premier gathering of leaders at the intersection of youth, sport and health. Set for tomorrow and Wednesday in Baltimore, Maryland, a livestream of Project Play Summit 2024 is available at projectplay.org/summit-2024.
(info courtesy of Twins)
