From the Cambridge Community Foundation
In Cambridge, solutions often start close to home. Cambridge Wins sports equity sponsorships began with neighbors who saw a need for more equitable access to youth sports and built a partnership to meet it. With support from the Cambridge Community Foundation, the program has grown over four years to back more than 40 programs, including 10 this summer that reached 1,500 kids across the city.
Wins began in 2022 when Cambridge residents Matt Meyersohn and Joe Bradlee partnered with the foundation to support the coaches already giving time to youth sports. The vision behind Wins is simple but powerful: Sports are more than games. They are a way to strengthen relationships, build confidence, create joy and foster spaces where every young person belongs. The program’s inspiration came from Nelson Mandela’s belief that “sports have the power to change the world.”
On Aug. 15, the foundation joined with neighbors at Sennott Park to celebrate the fourth season of Cambridge Wins with an end-of-summer gathering. Kids and families came together to play a variety of sports; enjoy food from Manny Mervil of Everybody Gotta Eat, a winner of the foundation’s Imagined in Cambridge Award; share free ice cream; and dance. “When you bring people together like this, those relationships flourish into support. You see it on the court, but you also see it in schools, in parks, around the city,” reflected Reece Freeman, founder of the Resilience Sports Foundation and a Cambridge Rindge and Latin School girls varsity basketball coach.
The program’s reach continues to expand thanks to broad community leadership. “We are all thrilled to see Cambridge Wins continuing to thrive in year four,” Bradlee said. “We were happy to welcome new support from community institutions such as Buckingham, Browne & Nichols School this summer, and we are also grateful to this year’s expanded advisory committee who helped us provide support to programs across the city.”
The end-of-summer event captured what Wins is all about. As Wins co-founder and executive director of Cambridge Basketball Lab Meyersohn put it, “Wins let us meet families where they are in the summer and support the volunteer coaches and programs that create safe, positive opportunities for kids. This year’s event was about ending the summer together, with kids playing different sports side by side, music and food in the park and a chance to enjoy being in community.”
Together, Cambridge Wins partners supported 10 local programs this summer, offering opportunities for children and teens to participate in soccer, basketball, baseball, orienteering and more. In just four years, nearly $50,000 has been directed to youth sports summer programs – proof that small, timely investments can help coaches create joy and belonging for thousands of our city’s children.
Cambridge Wins is community-led philanthropy in practice. Neighbors identify the need, local leaders drive the solutions, and the foundation helps connect resources. Together, we build equity, belonging and the relationships that allow kids and families to flourish across Cambridge.
This year’s Wins sponsorships supported: Cambridge Bay State; Cambridge Babe Ruth; Cambridge Baseball East; Cambridge Basketball Lab; Maria L. Baldwin Community Center; Navigation Games; Resilience Sports Foundation; S-Cube Diplomacy; Scholar Before Athlete; and Swim Freedom.
Thank you to our Wins Advisory Committee members – Bradlee, Meyersohn, Ty Bellitti, David Kale, Anthony Gallucio, Geo Rodriguez, Maggie Pimlott, Kathleen Skelton, Oderra Jones, Adam Corbeil, Nick Ross and Phil Johnson – for their leadership and guidance.
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)3 nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.