Laureus Sport For Good Foundation USA Hosts "Sport For Good Congressional Recess"

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA (Laureus USA) presents a Sport for Good Congressional Recess on the National Mall, in partnership with Playworks, Nickelodeon's Worldwide Day of Play, and Toys"R"Us®. The event will bring together Washington D.C. area sports based youth development (SBYD) programs, along with over 400 children, to showcase the power of sports to improve the lives of children. Legislators, Laureus Athlete Ambassadors, and Playworks coaches, as well as Nickelodeon and Toys"R"Us personalities, will join together to engage youth in a day of sports, games, and entertainment as they advocate for the continued support of youth sports programming nationwide.

Research has shown that youth participating in sports demonstrate improved skills in goal setting, leadership, and cooperation. They also tend to be more likely to attain higher levels of education and achieve greater success in the workforce.

"We believe that sport has a unique ability to help address some of society's most challenging issues, especially for children of underserved communities," said Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, CEO of Laureus USA and Olympic Gold Medalist in Track and Field. "We've observed how Sport for Good programs can powerfully impact a child's life, especially when they're designed to teach both the physical skills as well as the social and emotional skills that help develop a well-rounded child. That's why we're in Washington today with our partners, to showcase these impactful programs and rally fellow advocates to champion continued support and funding of Sport for Good programs."

The Sport for Good Congressional Recess is being held from 9:00am – 12:00pm in West Potomac Park. The Washington D.C. area youth in attendance will have an opportunity to rotate through multiple stations of sport and play led by coaches from Laureus national grants partner Playworks. Additional stations will feature Nick-themed games and activations, as well as SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star, who will join Toys"R"Us President of Play (and kid employee)Ariana Gentry, in ringing the recess bell to kick off the event. Laureus Ambassador Lance Thomas of the New York Knicks will join the fun and rally the kids to the stations. Sports, games, and activations will include football, bowling, lacrosse, and cooperative games. The Sport for Good Congressional Recess is also an official stop on Nickelodeon's summer-long celebration of play, leading up to the network's 14^th annual Worldwide Day of Play.

Laureus USA is committed to improve the lives of youth and strengthen communities through the power of sport. For more information on programs and initiatives, please visit www.LaureusUSA.com.

About Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA - Laureus USA is a national non-profit organization advancing the nationwide movement to use Sport for Good. We invest in programs that are effectively using sport to improve the health, education, employment and social cohesion of disadvantaged youth. Since 2012, we have impacted over 480,000 youth across 110 U.S. cities by investing in programs that use sport for social change. We have also supported the training of over 3,300 coaches who now serve as youth mentors in underserved communities. Learn more about Sport for Good at www.LaureusUSA.com.

About Playworks - Playworks is the leading national nonprofit leveraging the power of play to transform children's social and emotional health. In the 2016-17 school year, Playworks will reach 900,000 students at 1,800 schools in 23 U.S. cities directly and through professional training services. We are changing school culture by leveraging the power of safe, fun, and healthy play at school every day. We create a place for every kid on the playground to feel included, be active, and build valuable social and emotional skills. Our vision is for 3.5 million kids in 7,000 elementary schools nationwide to experience safe and healthy play every day by 2020.

About Nickelodeon - Nickelodeon, now in its 38^th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, digital, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 90 million households and has been the number-one-rated kids' basic cable network for 22 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB). 

About Toys"R"Us, Inc. - Toys"R"Us, Inc. is the world's leading dedicated toy and baby products retailer, offering a differentiated shopping experience through its family of brands. Merchandise is sold in 879 Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us stores in the United States, Puerto Rico and Guam, and in 815 international stores and over 255 licensed stores in 37 countries and jurisdictions. With its strong portfolio of e-commerce sites including Toysrus.com and Babiesrus.com, the company provides shoppers with a broad online selection of distinctive toy and baby products. Toys"R"Us, Inc. is headquartered in Wayne, NJ, and has nearly 65,000 employees worldwide. The company is committed to serving its communities as a caring and reputable neighbor through programs dedicated to keeping kids safe and helping them in times of need. Over the past three decades, the Company has given more than $100 million in product donations to children's charities. Since 1992, the Toys"R"Us Children's Fund, a public charity affiliated with Toys"R"Us, Inc., has also donated more than $130 million in grants.  For more information, visit Toysrusinc.com or follow @ToysRUsNews on Twitter.

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SOURCE Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA