Partnership with hidden gems

​We are so excited to kick off our partnership with Hidden Gems.  Hidden Gems is a non-profit founded by professional soccer player, Stephanie McCaffrey, a member of the Chicago Red Stars in the NWSL and the United States women’s national soccer team. “At Hidden Gems, we were motivated to help young girls from underserved communities foster ambition and develop high impact attributes and life skills.  With the limited time we have available as full-time professional athletes, our partnership with America SCORES Chicago provided the mentorship opportunity and the logistical framework we needed to make a positive difference. That being said, this partnership is much more special than your typical business arrangement. When two organizations truly share the same core values and mission with the end goal of doing good for others, the bond is much stronger and the possibilities are much greater!”
    We had our first joint-practice on Monday, April 23rd at Pilsen Academy.  Katie Naughton and Sarah Gorden joined Coach Karen’s practice and had a blast with our Pilsen elementary school girls team.  When asked what she thought of the Hidden Gems coaches, one of the poet-athletes, Jahaita, said, “they were awesome and cool! They helped us a lot. I can’t wait for them to come back and work with us again.” Coach Kari, our program manager said,  “I am thrilled to see where the Hidden Gems partnership with America SCORES goes. I think it is great that Red Stars players are willing to come out to schools in high-needs areas to show our poet-athletes that there are fierce, strong, skilled women on and off the field. I think by meeting and interacting with the Red Stars players' our poet-athletes will build lasting relationships and develop higher self-esteem.”  We look forward to watching this partnership grow, and can’t wait to see the positive impact that is has on our poet-athletes!