Group Gives Poor Children Chance to Play Sports

AS IT IS 2016-06-19 Group Gives Poor Children Chance to Play Sports

Playing a sport can help children in many ways. But poor children often cannot play sports because their families do not have the money to buy the equipment their children need.

Max Levitt wanted to change that. He had worked in college athletics¹ and youth sports. These experiences helped him find a solution to the problem.

Levitt created a group called Leveling the Playing Field four years ago. The non-profit organization collects used sports equipment and gives it to children who need it. Levitt says no child should be unable to play a sport because they cannot pay for the equipment.

“I played every sport. I was lucky enough that my family could afford to give me that opportunity. But it bothers me that there are thousands and thousands of kids every day who are unable to play sports because of the cost. And that is really sad.”

Play with it again

Levitt says he saw a huge waste of sporting equipment in America. He says every year much of the sporting equipment that teams used in the previous season is thrown away.

So Levitt started collecting used equipment and storing it in his parents’ home. Now, he keeps it in a 370-square-meter space in a storage² building. The boxes and shelves are filled with about $1.5 million worth of sports equipment -- including baseball gloves, hockey skates, golf clubs and more.

Levitt says sports can help children lead healthier lifestyles.

“This country’s having a very hard time with, with, with healthy, healthy living -- especially in our low-income areas. It’s become a major issue³ where a lot of kids who are struggling to stay fit.”

Jerome Clemons is a soccer coach at a program called DC SCORES, a non-profit group that gives free classes after school. Clemons says playing sports is important for children.

“It helps you build character. It teaches you about teamwork⁴. It gives them the opportunity to do activities after school rather than get in trouble.”

Leveling the Playing Field has given more than $1.4 million worth of sporting equipment to 300 programs in and near Washington⁵, DC. It has helped more than 100,000 children.

Levitt says his organization could not succeed without the help of volunteers. He and one other person are the group’s only paid workers. He says more than 500 people volunteered for the group last year. He says “we rely⁶ heavily on the community. We have people come in here and sort out equipment for us [and] people run collection drives for us.”

Levitt says he wants to bring his organization to other cities to give every child a chance to play sports.

Words in This Story

solution – n. something that is used or done to deal with and end a problem; something that solves a problem

used – adj. having been used before; having had a previous owner; not new

afford – v. to be able to pay for (something)

bother – v. to cause (someone) to feel troubled, worried or concerned

fit – adj. physically⁷ healthy and strong

character – n. the good qualities of a person that usually include moral⁸ or emotional⁹ strength, honesty¹⁰ and fairness¹¹

teamwork – n. the work done by people who work together as a team to do something

rely – v. to need (someone or something) for support, help, etc.; to depend on (someone or something)

sort out – phrasal verb¹² to look at things and put them in a particular order especially while you are searching for something

collection drive – n. expression an effort made by a group of people to achieve a goal, to collect money, etc.

1 athletics   

n.运动，体育，田径运动

参考例句：

• When I was at school I was always hopeless at athletics.我上学的时候体育十分糟糕。
• Our team tied with theirs in athletics.在田径比赛中，我们队与他们队旗鼓相当。

2 storage   

n.存储器，储藏，保管，库存，仓库

参考例句：

• How much will you have to pay the warehouse for storage?你得付多少仓库保管费？
• He is charging a storage battery.他在为蓄电池充电。

3 issue   

n.出版，发行，（报刊等）期、号，论点，问题，结果， （水，血等的）流出；vt.使流出，放出，发行（钞票等），发布（命令），出版（书等）发给；vi.发行，流出，造成...结果，进行辩护，传下

参考例句：

• I bought the book the day after its issue.这书出版后的第一天，我就去买了它。
• I'll support her down the line on that issue.在那个问题上我将全力支持她。

4 teamwork   

n.合作，协同工作

参考例句：

• Only teamwork will enable us to get the job done on time.只有团结一致，我们才能按时完成这项工作。
• Good teamwork between the players is not easy to get.队员之间很难做到配合默契。

5 Washington   

n.华盛顿特区(是美国首都)

参考例句：

• His birthplace is Washington,but he lives in San Francisco.他出生于华盛顿，但住在旧金山。
• They, together with my father,have gone to Washington.他们和我父亲一起去华盛顿了。

6 rely   

vi.依赖，依靠；信赖，信任

参考例句：

• I rely upon you to finish the work on time.我相信你会准时完成这项工作的。
• You should rely on your own efforts.你应该靠自己的努力。

7 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

8 moral   

adj.道德(上)的，有道德的；n.品行，寓意，道德

参考例句：

• Moral beauty ought to be ranked above all other beauty.品德之美应列于其他美之上。
• He deceived us into believing that he could give us moral support.他骗得我们相信他能给我们道义上的支持。

9 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

10 honesty   

n.诚实，公正，正直

参考例句：

• I would never question his honesty.我绝不会怀疑他的诚实。
• All respect him for his honesty.他为人诚实，大家都尊敬他。

11 fairness   

n.公平，正直，美好，明亮，清晰，适当，顺利性

参考例句：

• Their reputation for fairness is a matter for pride.他们公正的名声令他们引以为豪。
• Her sunburnt skin accentuates the fairness of her hair.她那晒黑了的皮肤突出了她的一头金发。

12 verb   

n.[语]动词

参考例句：

• The sentence is formed from a verb and two nouns.这句子由一个动词和两个名词构成。
• These are the finite forms of a verb.这些是一个动词的限定形式。