Introducing Grassroot Soccer’s 2023 Annual Report
Dear Friends,
Adolescence is the key time to build good habits for physical and mental health that last a lifetime. At Grassroot Soccer (GRS), our unique approach to adolescent engagement uses activity-based learning (our Curriculum), caring near-peer mentors (our Coaches), and fun (our Culture) to create safe spaces in which adolescents can learn about vital health topics and establish lifelong healthy behaviors.
We’ve been doing this for more than two decades, and in 2023, we surpassed the milestone of 25 million young people reached with health knowledge and skills through our sport-based health programs.
2023 was a year of innovation and growth for GRS, as our efforts continued to expand and evolve in response to a changing world and an increasing need for our work.
Take, for example, the global adolescent mental health crisis. Using our SKILLZ model, GRS is filling a critical care gap in mental health by training Coaches to improve young people’s mental health awareness, coping skills, and resiliency, including through our signature mental health promotion and prevention program, MindSKILLZ. In Kenya, MindSKILLZ cut the number of adolescent participants with depression in half.
And while our in-person programs remain as critical as ever, we’re also innovating in an increasingly digital world to meet the needs of the millions of adolescents who may not otherwise have access to our programming. Through our Digital SKILLZ game, which adapts our signature approach into a fun and interactive game that young people access through their mobile phones, we reached more than 1 million young people in 2023 with life-saving sexual and reproductive health information.
I invite you to read more about GRS’s work and impact in 2023, including both of these exciting initiatives, in this Annual Report.
Thank you for your ongoing support and commitment to equipping millions of young people with the life-saving knowledge and skills to lay the foundation for lifelong physical and mental health. We’re excited to work together with you to reach millions more.
With appreciation,
Thomas S. Clark, MD
CEO & Founder