FINDING JOY IN THE JOURNEY

Executive Summary Finding Joy in the Journey is a sports philanthropy project I have designed to connect the Arizona State University Women's Basketball team with girls between the ages of 7-12 in the Phoenix community who have the same love for the game basketball. Through monthly team bonding events over a nine-month season, these young girls are able to build long lasting relationships with their role models and learn how to find the joy in the journey. Finding joy in the journey is key in our fast paced and on the go American lifestyle. The successes and bumps in the road, the good times and the bad, and the people along the way all contribute to help shape us into the people we are today. This program allows for 14 girls to have a scholarship to be on the Jr. ASU women's basketball team. The approximate budget for this project is $3000 per year and covers expenses for food and supplies at monthly team events as well as each of the girls to have season tickets for the ASU women's basketball home games. Funding is provided through boosters and fundraising efforts on the front end. Marketing efforts are made through the ASU Women's Basketball team's partnership with local elementary and middle schools through the character code game, and also through the database of the girls who attend basketball camp. Through a shared love of the game of basketball, ASU Women's Basketball is raising up a young generation of girls to be leaders by inspiring and teaching them all of the lessons the game of basketball can teach us about life.