When Hannibal(about 218 BC) was told by his generals that he could not cross the Alps to reach Rome, he responded by saying, “If I cannot find a way, I will make a way.”  Thus was the attitude of Greene Early College math teacher, Heather Davis.   And find a way she did.

She was prompted to find a way to enhance the daily experience for the students at GEC.  The students have one hour a day called” Smart Lunch”.  Obviously, lunch is served, but the remainder of the time can be a free period, if and only if they have finished all academic assignments or if there is not a mandatory meeting.  Thus, the unspoken incentive exists to complete assignments to enjoy that precious time outside.

They especially enjoy playing soccer and volleyball. But, since GEC does not have regular organized high school teams, sports equipment is not a budgetary item.  Nonetheless, students do enjoy a short match-a pick-up game against their peers.  This is a worthwhile, meaningful time to build relationships, participate in physical activity or just unwind from the morning academics.

Researching funding sources, Mrs. Davis discovered LPF-Leveling the Playing Field.  It was founded in 2013 in response to the growing inequity between those that can afford to play sports and those that cannot, and the prominent role the cost of sporting goods was playing in that gap.  After working in youth sports, college athletics, and professional football, the founder, Max Levitt, realized the volume of equipment that goes to waste from elementary school-aged kids all the way up to the professional sports franchises.  In response, he decided to develop essentially an equipment bank for very gently used sports equipment, thus encouraging students to get off the sidelines.  Although located in the Greater Washington, Baltimore, or Philadelphia areas, any program awarded an equipment grant could take advantage of the warehouse’s resources if they chose to send a representative.

After receiving notification of being awarded the grant, Mrs. Davis and three coworkers, Natasha Martin, Brittany Hood, and Elizabeth Calhoun, traveled on a weekend to the Leveling the Playing Field warehouse in Silver Springs, Maryland to pick up equipment.  As part of the grant, the equipment could not be shipped; it had to be picked up.   

Soccer balls, tennis racquets, batons, volleyball net, mini ping pong table, pickleball racquets, jump ropes, cones, and pinny jerseys were selected for GEC students. 

Seeking additional funding, Mrs. Davis also completed  a grant she entitled “Goals for Greene”, requesting $4500 from Dick’s Sport Goods 75for75 Foundation.  In her narrative, she said the following,”

“Our students currently use soccer goals on a practice field for the nearby high school, but we would love for them to have goals owned by our school so they could play at their leisure. Some also use a small plastic fence as their net when they play volleyball. Students that come to our school give up the opportunity to play sports to focus on academics, so we'd like to be able to provide them with equipment so they can be active during[SMART] lunch.”  Having received the grant, GEC  will purchase regulation size soccer goals(with wheels) and soccer balls as well as volleyballs and net.

Thanks to Mrs. Davis’ tenacity and persistence, GEC students will begin another exciting year with additional incentives to have more great days at school.