Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame Reaches Out to Kids, Community

n keeping with one of its founding principles of giving back to the community, the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame has been very busy this summer with its outreach programs. Some of the recent highlights are:

• Sponsorship of the Police Athletic League junior golf program. The PAL program gives a diverse group of children the chance to participate in a golf skills challenge. The Philly Hall of Fame sponsored the programs kickoff in May and will sponsor another event in October.
• Sponsorship of the Pennsylvania Association for Blind Athletes. Donations from the Hall of Fame went directly toward the purchase of bats and special beeping bases to help teach children with severe vision impairment the fun of baseball.
• Scholarships to the Bruce Simon Basketball Camp. Hall of Fame sponsorship paid the fee for 10 families children to attend the week-long camps in Southampton. With help from the Hall, some less-privileged campers were able to attend the sold-out camps. As a part of the scholarship, the campers were required to write a short essay about one of the forty inductees in the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.

In addition to the above major sponsorships, the Hall of Fame also participated in or donated to the Friends of Caesar Charity Golf Tournament, the Neil Stein/Gary Maddox Charity BBQ Contest to benefit Youth Golf & Academics, Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis, and the National Adoption Center.

"With the organization's unique position in the sports community, we are able to directly impact youth and youth groups in the area,” said Steve Tallant, Senior Director of Foundation Development. "As a Hall of Fame, naturally, our annual inductions are the focus for most people but, as an organization, we feel our community-focused programs may be much more rewarding, in a very different way."

Local sports-focused youth and community groups are encouraged to contact the Hall of Fame to discuss potential opportunities. For more information on Hall of Fame community outreach programs, please call Steve Tallant at (215) 886-6657 ext. 5 or via email to steve.tallant @ phillyhall.net