{"id":517528,"date":"2021-07-26T09:08:15","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T13:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/always-and-walmart-continue-to-team-up-with-olympic-gold-medal-gymnast-laurie-hernandez-and-support-the-womens-sports-foundation-to-keepherplaying\/"},"modified":"2021-07-26T09:08:15","modified_gmt":"2021-07-26T13:08:15","slug":"always-and-walmart-continue-to-team-up-with-olympic-gold-medal-gymnast-laurie-hernandez-and-support-the-womens-sports-foundation-to-keepherplaying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/always-and-walmart-continue-to-team-up-with-olympic-gold-medal-gymnast-laurie-hernandez-and-support-the-womens-sports-foundation-to-keepherplaying\/","title":{"rendered":"Always\u00ae and Walmart Continue to Team Up with Olympic Gold Medal Gymnast Laurie Hernandez and Support the Women\u2019s Sports Foundation to #KeepHerPlaying"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Always\u00ae<\/i> and Walmart Continue to Team Up with Olympic Gold Medal Gymnast Laurie Hernandez and Support the Women\u2019s Sports Foundation to #KeepHerPlaying<\/b><\/p>\n

Always Donates $500,000 to Local Organizations that Provide Access and Opportunity for Puberty-Aged Girls in Sports<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

CINCINNATI–(BUSINESS WIRE<\/a>)–
\nAlways and Walmart are taking action, in partnership with the Women\u2019s Sports Foundation, to help girls stay in sports by highlighting the important life skills that come from continued participation through puberty. To further rally society to #KeepHerPlaying, they are continuing their partnership with Olympic gold medal gymnast Laurie Hernandez and enlisting social media influencers to share firsthand accounts of how sports have had a positive impact on their lives.\n<\/p>\n

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20210726005456\/en\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\nResearch has shown that nearly half of girls in the U.S. drop out of sports during puberty1<\/sup> and an engaged support system plays a critical role in ensuring girls feel encouraged to stay in sports2<\/sup>.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI am grateful for the continuing support from my family and coaches in making my most recent choice to withdraw for the final selection process for the Tokyo Olympics due to my knee injury. Without their encouragement and the perseverance I learned in the gym, it would have been difficult to come to this decision,\u201d says Hernandez. \u201cI am determined to keep training and excited to continue my partnership with Always and Walmart to encourage girls to stay in sports, so they too, can develop the important skills that will help become whoever they want to be in life.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

\nThe survey, conducted by OnePoll and commissioned by Always, found that 66% of women who played sports during puberty credit it for helping them become who they are today and nearly 75% of people believe playing sports during puberty has a positive impact on future career success1<\/sup>.\n<\/p>\n

\nTo help provide access and opportunity to puberty-aged girls, Always have awarded a total of $500,000 in financial grants to organizations and schools across the country that provide access, opportunity and encouragement for puberty-aged girls in sports.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe organizations and schools were selected in partnership with the Women\u2019s Sports Foundation, a national organization that believes one of the most meaningful ways to make an impact in the world of sports is to foster sustainable change in local communities that benefits current and future generations of female athletes. The #KeepHerPlaying Youth Grants will be used in a variety of ways to create equitable and accessible spaces for girls up to the age of 18, from renovating facilities and upgrading equipment to enhancing accessibility for those with varying abilities and expanding services to reach more girls in the community.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cTennis is a sport that has high economic barriers to entry and is often perceived to be an upper-class sport,\u201d says Sloane Stephens, the Founder of Sloane Stephens Foundation in Studio City, California. \u201cThanks to the #KeepHerPlaying youth grant, we will be able to start eradicating these barriers so that our girls can be exposed to the benefits of a lifelong sport. With support from these funds, our year-round programs will continue to operate without gaps to prevent any vulnerable periods of downtime, and we will be able to construct permanent lighting on court to improve safety and accessibility.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

\nListed below are the non-profit schools and non-profit organizations who have been selected to receive a portion of the #KeepHerPlaying Youth Grant:\n<\/p>\n