Spin for Project Coach April 5

The second annual Spin-A-Thon, sponsored by Smith College’s Project Coach, will be held on Saturday, April 5, in Ainsworth Gym from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Come spin for change and join the Project Coach team effort to empower teens to build successful lives and stronger communities.

Proceeds from the benefit event will support the work of Project Coach’s teen coaches, a group of 50 inner-city Springfield, Massachusetts, youth who partner with Smith faculty—including Sam Intrator, professor of education and child study, and Don Siegel, professor of exercise and sport studies—and Smith students and staff to run after-school tutoring and sports programs for elementary-aged children in some of Springfield’s most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Founded in 2003, Project Coach’s mission is to bridge economic, educational and social divisions facing youth in Springfield, Massachusetts. Though the program’s teen coaches work in elementary schools struggling to reverse the impacts of low academic achievement rates, family poverty and underemployment, many of its teen coaches also face similar economic and educational struggles, according to Spin-A-Thon organizers.

At the heart of Project Coach is the belief that sports can be a powerful vehicle to enhance the lives of children, families and communities. Project Coach’s sports-based life skills program teaches teens to coach and mentor younger children and, in the process, helps the teen coaches develop skills indispensable for success in school, in the community and in future careers.

To register, email projectcoachspin@gmail.com. The first 100 spinners to sign up will receive a Project Coach water bottle and be entered into a raffle to win prizes donated by Northampton merchants.