2023: ASNY’s Year in Review
What an exciting year it’s been!
With the help of our incredible staff, our generous donors, and our enthusiastic supporters, ASNY has had the opportunity to work with talented and energetic poet-athletes across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx!
Join us on a journey through 2023…
Jamboree
On Saturday June 17, over 375 poet-athletes from Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx visited Columbia’s Baker Athletic Complex in Inwood Manhattan for Jamboree, ASNY’s year-end celebration and soccer tournament!
Girls Night In
Nike hosted ASNY for our inaugural Girls Night In! Girls from different stages of ASNY programming participated in an afternoon of self-care, affirmations, and celebrating sisterhood in sport!
NYC Marathon
Our team of 30 charity runners took on 26.2 miles of New York City streets on Sunday, November 5 in support of ASNY’s poet-athletes! After months of fundraising and training, our incredible team has raised almost $100,000 in support of America SCORES New York’s after-school program.
Fall Frenzy
PS 66 were one of several schools who took part in Fall Frenzy in Washington Heights in November. The weather was perfect and the atmosphere was electric with poet-athletes rotating between exciting soccer games and some powerful poetry, the perfectly ASNY-style rehearsal space for December's Poetry Slam.
Poetry SLAM
On Wednesday, December 13th, the 20th annual America SCORES New York Poetry SLAM took place at Harlem's Riverbank State Park! 150 poet-athletes and their families joined us from all over New York City to celebrate the power of poetry and practice the pillar of self-expression that ASNY holds so dear. Our reigning champions, Inwood’s PS 98, took home the trophy with their poem about different cultures and a peaceful coexistence!
SCORES Cup
On Saturday June 24, 25 corporate and community soccer teams came together at Pier 40 in Lower Manhattan for America SCORES New York’s annual SCORES Cup, enjoying a day of exciting competition that led to seven champions and a great amount of support for our social justice youth development program.
Manchester United Foundation
Poet-athletes spent a wonderful week with the Manchester United Foundation crew back in July! Poet-athletes joined Street Soccer USA for a tournament with special guest Wes Brown, summer youth employment program participants headed downtown to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange, and even more poet-athletes had the chance to act as player mascots for both Manchester United and Arsenal in front of a record crowd of 82,000 at Metlife Stadium!
Heather O’Reilly
2015 Women's World Cup champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist Heather O'Reilly was one of this year's Change Makers Benefit honorees! A longtime supporter of America SCORES, O'Reilly is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of players through work ethic, leadership, and authenticity. She spoke to Fox Sports broadcaster and Change Makers Benefit host Melissa Ortiz about the future of the USWNT, the impact of youth sports, and the growing popularity of soccer in the US.
Beyond Sport
Erick Mendoza has had a big year with ASNY. From his beginnings as a youth activist with Kicking It Forward and Saturday Night Lights through his participation in the inaugural class of the Coaching for Change Academy, Erick is now a top coach, mentoring the above mentioned PS 66. That's why he was the perfect candidate for our Junior Board's Program & Community Committee while also bringing his expertise to the Beyond Sport United 2023 conference which took place in Manhattan in the Fall. Erick appeared alongside inspiring fellow activist Noor Abukaram, the duo wowing the attendees with their experiences inspiring young people.
Thanks for making this year such a great one — we can’t wait to see what 2024 brings to our poet-athletes!
