[kidlexington]

An apropos article on the subject today from the Associated Press, by way of the WLEX-18 website:

New Nonprofit Helps Students Pay to Play Sports
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - A nonprofit organization has formed in Franklin County that helps students pay fees to play sports at public schools.
We Wanna Play was organized last year with a mission "to make sure every student athlete who wishes to participate in middle or high school varsity sports has that opportunity and is not held back by the escalating costs."

Founder Rob Hecker told the Lexington Herald-Leader (http://bit.ly/qOfvoG ) that fees for playing sports at any of Franklin County's high schools or middle schools range between $35 and $300.

He says he is planning a 5K run called Beat the Heat on Aug. 13 as a fund-raiser.

Hecker says he'd like to see the idea expand beyond Franklin County, saying the program he has started could be a model for others.

Western Hills High School principal Rita Rector said as districts are pressured to reduce costs, athletic budgets have been cut. That means more expenses for booster organizations and fewer resources to help kids.

"We don't have a lot of flexibility in our funding," she said.

Hecker said some families can't afford even a small fee and he hopes the new program will help.

"We are saying we just want to ease the burden," he said.
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Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Note: An expanded version of this is in the Herald-Leader, mentioning Mr. Hecker’s willingness to help people start similar programs in their communities!