An advocacy organization that works to provide access to sports for Black students in Portland Public Schools won $25,000 in funding from Adidas at a pitch event last week.
Black Excellence Group’s founder Mashari Tyson told a panel of four Adidas employees how the organization works with PPS to bring Black therapists, consultants and educators into schools to help students see their worth and value, and develop a sense of belonging.
With the funding it was awarded Friday morning, Tyson said that Black Excellence Group will work to expand its offerings for Black students.
“We provide kids access to sport and really tangible ways. We pay their basketball and soccer fees, we can send them to events like the Olympic trials happening in Eugene,” said Tyson. “It is going to be a combination of spending it on capacity-building, to have enough staff for this fall, in order to continue to get more students.”
Last year, Adidas announced that a group of Black and Latino Portland entrepreneurs would make up the 2023 cohort of Adidas Community Lab, which focuses on emerging entrepreneurs working in the areas of equitable access to sports, health and wellness.
It offered participants $75,000 in funding and access to industry experts, mentors and workshops, as well as membership after the accelerator to Adidas’ partner Impact Hub, a global network which supports social impact entrepreneurs with community and education resources.
“There are really no losers here. I hope the journey has been impactful for you, in terms of the coaching and mentorship. The ability for us, as a brand, to continue to put sport front and center for our youth and their development is incredibly important,” Adidas North American President John Miller told the cohort before announcing the winners.
Black Excellence Group was one of eight companies that pitched to a panel of Adidas workers, including its U.S. Director of PR Makeda Njie, Senior Director of Purpose and Communities Ayesha Martin and Senior VP of Brand Marketing Chris Murphy, along with Miller.
Fridie Outdoors, an app that helps novice campers access information offline to help them gain camping knowhow when they need it, won second place and $10,000. Lestarya Molloy, co-founder of Fridie, launched the company after years of not feeling safe or educated enough as a woman of color to camp confidently.
Big Yard Foundation, a company that works with marginalized youth in Portland by offering recreational activities to support wellness, won third place, the potential for further collaboration with Adidas and product donation. Founder and former NFL player Brennan Scarlett said he intends to use his connections to bring cutting edge football training and general wellness support to Portland youth.
Other cohort participants included:
- Loco por la Aventura, which works to bridge the Latino community with outdoor activities by organizing outdoor activities like hiking, camping and climbing and offer how-to information in Spanish.
- Street Soccer USA PDX, which fights poverty through sports, offering an alternative to the pay-to-play model of youth sports. It also provides safe places for kids to play by supplying trained coaches and focusing on youth below the poverty line.
- People of Color Outdoors, which is a nonprofit that offers BIPOC Portlanders nature education and encourages them to have outdoor experiences through organized trips and community outreach.
- OutsideNow created a device called the Play It Safe Tower System that alerts drivers that kids are at play along their route.
- Flow in the City is a yoga studio focused on building community and making yoga more accessible.
