Thank you to everyone that attended our third annual fundraiser!
Your support has helped us to expand our mission to level the playing field. We hope you felt as inspired as we did after hearing from Archie Griffin and Katie Smith on how sports have impacted their lives and how important it is for a child to have the opportunity to get in the game.

 

 
 

Together we raised 

$115,000!

As always, 100% of those funds will go
toward making a difference in the lives of young people in need.

 

 

 
If you missed our 3rd Annual Fundraiser, you can still help make a difference by donating today. Help give children in Central Ohio the opportunity to play, grow and excel through youth sports.

 

 
DONATE

 

OUR 2022 SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

$25,000 LIVE LIKE LINDY PREMIER SPONSOR (SOLD OUT)

This will support the boy’s & girl’s Varsity and Junior Varsity tennis programs at Cristo Rey Columbus High School.

$10,000 LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD SPONSOR 

This will help provide up to 100 youth in Central Ohio the opportunity to attend an eight-week, 5 days a week LiFEsports+ summer camp in 2023.

$5,000 UNLOCK THE GREATNESS SPONSOR

This provides 350 bags and new sports equipment from our ‘Sport In A Bag’ program to various Central Ohio organizations.

$1,500 PLAY, GROW &
EXCEL SPONSOR

This will give 25 kids the opportunity to participate in a week-long summer sports camp in 2023.

$600 EVERY CHILD, EVERY SPORT, EVERY OPPORTUNITY SPONSOR

This will give 6 kids the opportunity to participate in local youth sports leagues such as football, baseball, cheerleading, etc.



You can help make a difference. 100% of all donations we raise go toward helping cover the cost of youth sports participation. And right now, the need has never been greater.

 

For event and ticket information, visit https://lindyinfantefundraiser2022.eventbrite.com

To make a donation to the cause of youth sports participation, visit https://lindyinfantefoundation.org/donate/

 

Aspen Institute Project Play Summit 2022

LIF headed to our nation’s capital and attended Project Play 2022, the premier event for leaders building healthy children and communities through sports.

 

Sport In A Bag

Our Sport In A Bag initiative has continued to thrive. To date, we have distributed over 18,000 bags, and just this summer alone we estimate to distribute over 2,000.

Camps

We had our first basketball camp of the year back in January at KIPP Columbus. This summer, we will also be hosting a track and field, football, and cheerleading camp all at KIPP’s campus.

Grants

Since the beginning of the year, we have granted nearly $35,000 dollars and helped serve over 180 kids. These dollars helped athletes play basketball, softball, track, wrestling, baseball, football, and archery.

 

 

 

Now that we are back in school and summer is officially over. Check out what we have been up to the last couple of months!

 

SPORT IN A BAG

Through our Sport In A Bag initiative, so far in 2021, we have traveled over 3,500 miles and distributed nearly 4,000 bags to youth all across Ohio, and we had our first out-of-state reach.

 

 

New Partnership 

We teamed up with Children’s Hunger Alliance and 2nd & 7 Foundation this summer to help kids thrive. Together we are distributing free meal kits, Sport In A Bag, and reading materials to 42 sites in Youngstown, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, Lima, and several cities in Southeast Ohio. A total of 1,500 ‘Sport In A Bag’ will be distributed. We are so proud and grateful for this partnership to broaden our reach and serve new communities.

CAMPS, CAMPS & MORE CAMPS

Due to COVID-19, we were not able to hold any in-person camps in 2020. Once restrictions were lifted and we got the green light, we made sure to pack as many in-person camps as possible.  

 

                                   KIPP Columbus                                                           Beatty Recreation Center

Community Youth Camp

This summer, we sponsored the inaugural Columbus Community Youth Camp at Lou Berliner Sports Park. This was a weeklong camp that provided equitable sports opportunities for children ages 6-12. Each child was introduced to 15 new sports and engaged in different activities that promoted confidence and personal wellness while teaching life lessons like teamwork, sportsmanship, and overcoming adversity. Board member, Kent Mercker, volunteered his time and coached the baseball portion of camp.

Traveling Lacrosse Camp

This lacrosse summer camp traveled to 8 different recreation centers across the city – Westgate, Glenwood, Schiller, Dodge, Barnett, Feddersen, Brentnell, and Driving Park. The kids loved the camp and improved their skills over the course of camp.

After a 13-month analysis of the greater Columbus area centered on Franklin County, we are excited to announce the State of Play Central Ohio Report is now complete! This report, released by the Sports & Society Program at the Aspen Institute, shows a divide based upon race and income in youth sports experiences for some children in Central Ohio. State of Play Central Ohio analyzes the state of youth sports in the region and offers recommendations to grow quality access to sports, physical activity and outdoor recreation for all children, regardless of race, gender, income or ability.

 

 

Special Thank You
The State of Play Central Ohio Report was made possible because of the partnership with Lindy Infante Foundation, The Columbus Foundation, Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, Columbus Youth Foundation, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and the Chris and Lori Holtmann Fund. 
 
 

The collaboration couldn’t be complete without the expertise and passion of the State of Play Central Ohio Advisory Group.
Dawn Anderson-Butcher, LiFEsports at Ohio State University                                                                  Boomer Schmidt, Columbus Recreation and Parks Foundation
Dan Sharpe, The Columbus Foundation                                                                                                      Dan Sharpe, The Columbus Foundation
Tony Collins,YMCA of Central Ohio                                                                                                               Jess Sparks, Girls on the Run of Central Ohio
Kathryn Dobbs, Columbus Blue Jackets                                                                                                      Dawn Stewart, Otterbein University Athletics
Sophia Fifner, Columbus Recreation and Parks Development                                                                 Morgen Wade, Columbus Recreation and Parks Department
Archie Griffin, Columbus Youth Foundation                                                                                              Danielle Ghiloni Walter, NICAA and Scotts Miracle-Gro
Sara Hinck, Girls on the Run                                                                                                                        Dante Washington, Columbus Crew SC
Stephanie Infante, Lindy Infante Foundation                                                                                           Doug Wolf, Boys and Girls Club of Central Ohio
Linda Logan, Greater Columbus Sports Commission
Dan Ross, formerly of Ohio High School Athletic Association                                                                    

To say that COVID-19 has changed our world is an understatement. When sports were cancelled, we knew that our Foundation needed to quickly pivot so that we could still reach the children we serve. That is where Sports In A Bag was born. What started off as a simple idea has now turned into a once in a lifetime opportunity, that we might have never realized if it wasn’t for COVID-19.

This initiative provides free sports equipment and at home drills and activities to kids in Central Ohio to keep them active and engaged during the crisis. Each bag contains one jump rope, four cones, one ball of their choice (soccer, football, basketball) and programming from our partner OSU LiFEsports that includes different drills, exercises and activities. We are so appreciative to Dick’s Sporting Goods, Franklin and NIKE for joining our initiative and providing sport equipment for each child.

In addition to Sports In A Bag, The Lindy Infante Foundation, in partnership with OSU LiFEsports is offering free virtual summer camp to 1,000 kids in Central Ohio. The virtual camp experience includes at home drills, incentives, and also virtual meetings with camp counselors and other campers. We are thrilled to be able to offer this program to kids in Central Ohio to keep them active and engaged in a safe way. It may not be the same as attending a camp in person – something that our kids rely so heavily on – but we know that by offering this free summer camp, we are still making an impact.

 

Sports in a Bag Distribution

To date we have distributed nearly 2,000 bags. On May 27, 2020, we distributed 1,000 bags to 15 Columbus City School sites. Kids and their parents were lined up outside the buildings for Sports In A Bag. It was an incredible experience. The smiles and the thank you’s we have received truly inspire us to keep going. Stay tuned for more to come!