Please join us for our 3rd Annual Fundraiser, where our goal is to continue connecting every child in every sport to every opportunity. In the few years since the Lindy Infante Foundation first opened its doors, we’ve already been able to make a positive impact in leveling the playing field – helping over 20,000 youth in Central Ohio cover the costs of participation. This year, we have invited legendary Buckeyes Archie Griffin and Katie Smith as our keynote speakers.
Date: Thursday, December 1st, 2022
Time: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Location: The Exchange at Bridge Park
6520 Riverside Dr, Dublin, OH 43017
Keynote speakers: Archie Griffin & Katie Smith
About Our Keynote Speakers
Known to the world as the only two-time winner of the Heisman Trophy, Griffin is one of a select group of Buckeyes to be named a three-time All-American during his playing days and has served as president and CEO of the OSU Alumni Association, as well as a senior advisor in the Office of Advancement.
Recently inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, Katie Smith is a three-time Olympic gold medalist and is one of the most decorated American professional basketball players of all time. She is currently an assistant coach with the Minnesota Lynx and a women’s basketball analyst for ESPN.
Several Sponsorship Levels Are Available
We believe that playing sports has the power to transform the life of a child. Our mission is to expand opportunities in youth sports. We do that by recruiting community partners and finding sponsors to raise funds that help get children and teens off of the sidelines and into the game. We put 100% of all funds raised into youth sports participation.
$25,000 Live Like Lindy Premier Sponsor (SOLD OUT)
Funds 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
Funds will help provide up to 100 youth in Central Ohio the opportunity to attend an eight-week LiFEsports+ summer camp where they’ll learn lifelong characteristics like perseverance, accountability and discipline.
$5,000 Unlock the Greatness Sponsor
Funds will help provide 350 bags and new sports equipment from our ‘Sport In A Bag’ program to various Central Ohio organizations. Each bag contains a brand new soccer ball, football, or basketball, a jump rope, and a set of cones.
$1,500 Play, Grow & Excel Sponsor
Funds will help give 25 kids the opportunity to participate in a week-long summer sports camp, ensuring that they stay active in the summer months and can participate in a variety of sports.
$600 Every Child, Every Sport, Every Opportunity Sponsor
Funds will help give 6 kids the opportunity to participate in local youth sports leagues such as football, baseball and cheerleading – ensuring that they have opportunities to play, grow and excel.
Each sponsorship level is tax deductible and includes community recognition of your commitment to supporting youth sports participation.
Organization looking to keep kids active with Gym Class in a Bag
The Lindy Infante Foundation is working in partnership with OSU LiFEsports, The Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, Boys and Girls Club of Columbus, The Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority, and others on an exciting new initiative: Sport In A Bag.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, sports have been canceled. The Foundation regularly puts on free sports camps for kids in underserved neighborhoods, but those camps have been canceled for the foreseeable future. In response, The Lindy Infante Foundation is partnering with these organizations to provide free sports equipment and at home drills and activities to kids in Central Ohio to keep them active and engaged during the crisis.
58% of all community-based sports fees are rising and 24% of high schools in the United States no longer offer sports. The rising costs of participation have closed the doors to youth sports for many children and teens in need. The playing field has been tilted in favor of wealthier families. The Lindy Infante Foundation is committed to leveling that playing field and ensuring that no young person misses out. We work to bring out the greatness in every child with a chance to play, grow, and excel through sports.
This program has already been featured on NBC4 Columbus and is receiving significant partnership interest on a National level from retailers and others alike.
For more information or to get involved, please send an email using the form below:
Contact Form
To our Lindy Infante Foundation Community:
When we started this foundation our goal and main focus was to bring out the greatness in every child with a chance to play, grow and excel through sports. We hoped that by leveling the playing field the underserved youth in our community would now be able to participate in a sport.
The safety and well-being of our team, donors, partners and those we serve is always our top priority and especially now during the COVID-19 outbreak and crisis. As a Foundation, we are striving to be responsive to the unprecedented needs and challenges of those we serve during this time.
With the current school closures and postponement of all youth sports the resources our foundation has set aside to devote to sports programming can be put to good use to meet other and more urgent needs. Therefore the Lindy Infante Foundation has made the decision to divert the funding directly to feeding children and families in need.
If you are interested in helping us, a donation of just $12 will feed a family of four in Central Ohio. 100% of your donation will go directly to this effort. To make a donation text FOOD to 614-368-7171 or Click Here to Donate Now.
Working closely with our partners we have already committed to donating 2,000 meals and we will continue to do more in the coming weeks. We are deeply grateful to our board, sponsors, supporters and partners for their compassion, flexibility, and commitment to our community.
Please do not hesitate to contact our office directly with any questions or concerns.
Thank you for your incredible support, understanding, and generosity.
With deepest gratitude,
Stephanie Infante
President
Lindy Infante Foundation
COLUMBUS, OHIO (September 20, 2019) – During the Aspen Institute’s annual Project Play Summit in Detroit, the Lindy Infante Foundation announced its involvement in a partnership aimed at researching ways to increase access to youth sports in Central Ohio.
The Project Play Summit is the nation’s premier gathering of leaders in youth sports. In 2018, the Columbus-based Lindy Infante Foundation was one of a small group of organizations across the country named as a Project Play Champion for taking meaningful actions to address the declining rates of participation.
This year, the Lindy Infante Foundation has joined The Columbus Foundation, The Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, The Columbus Youth Foundation, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Chris and Lori Holtmann Foundation Fund in commissioning a report that will offer recommendations on how to grow access to youth sports for all children.
The report, titled “The State of Play in Central Ohio,” will feature a 10-month analysis of how well the region is serving youth through sports – regardless of zip code or ability. Guided by a task force of local leaders, it will feature results from a survey of Central Ohio youth. It will present findings on strengths and weaknesses in youth sports access, and it will offer recommendations on opportunities for opening doors to participation.
The report will be released at the 2020 Project Play Summit and will be made available in the Fall of 2020. “Having a better understanding of youth sports and recreation in Central Ohio will have an important impact on directing grant-making, affecting collaboration among youth-serving organizations – and can even better inform civic priorities,” said Dan Sharpe, Vice President for Community Research and Grants Management at The Columbus Foundation.
The mission of the Lindy Infante Foundation is to improve access to youth sports by covering the costs of participation for those in need. They partner with numerous like-minded donors and organizations to accomplish that mission. They put 100% of all funds raised into youth sports participation.
About the Aspen Institute & The Columbus Foundation.
The Aspen Institute is a non-partisan forum for the exchange of ideas. Aspen Institute Experts are leaders in their fields, bringing a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives all aimed at doing the most good for the greatest number of people.
The Columbus Foundation serves nearly 3,000 individuals, families and businesses that have created unique funds and planned gifts to make a difference in the lives of others through the most effective philanthropy possible. It is one of the top 10 largest community foundations in the United States.
We believe that playing sports has the power to transform the life of a child. And our new brand strategy is designed to support our mission by providing more efficient ways of raising funds, recruiting community partners and finding sponsors to help get children and teens off of the sidelines and into the game.
- Our new messaging clearly communicates why our mission matters – using facts and figures to illustrate how rising costs have led to big declines in sports participation.
- Our new imagery more prominently features young athletes – reinforcing the Foundation’s focus on improving the lives of children and teens.
- Our new website features a more streamlined user experience – making it easier for donors and recipients to interact with the foundation.
In the few years since the Lindy Infante Foundation first opened its doors, we’ve already been able to make positive impacts throughout the community. But our focus has always been on the future – the future of youth sports and the lives that can forever be changed through participation.
Browse our website for information on:
- Applying for financial assistance
- Donating to our cause
- Partnering with the Lindy Infante Foundation
Columbus, OH – The Lindy Infante Foundation, whose mission is to provide athletic scholarships to children in need, has granted the Boys & Girls Club of Columbus $225,000 to establish the first Lindy Infante Foundation Athletic League. This transformational gift will provide girls and boys in grades 3–6 the opportunity to participate in high-level competitive sports.
Boys & Girls Club of Columbus (BGCC) currently offers a variety of intramural sports activities that help youth have fun and get physical exercise in a non-competitive nature.
“Offering our members an opportunity to be trained and participate in competitive sports will enhance their overall club experience and increase the likelihood that they will stay engaged in the Club through their middle and high school years”, says Rebecca Asmo, CEO, Boys & Girls Club of Columbus.
The Lindy Infante Foundation is equally excited about the partnership. “The relationship that we are building with Boys & Girls Club of Columbus is providing us with the foundation to begin accomplishing our goal and the fact that Lindy began his journey with the same organization has led us to believe this partnership is meant to be.” says Brad, founder and son of the late Gelindo “Lindy” Infante.
ABOUT LINDY INFANTE FOUNDATION
The mission of the Lindy Infante Foundation is to provide athletic scholarships to children in need to play sports. The organization honors the life and legacy of Gelindo “Lindy” Infante, former University of Florida football player who later earned his fame as the head coach for the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts.
As a child, Lindy Infante faced considerable hardships, the early death of his mother and an absentee father left his sister as his primary care giver. Impoverished and with no direction, he was headed down the wrong path until he entered a nationally sponsored race at the Boys & Girls Club where he placed 10th. That moment catapulted him into the limelight and ultimately into his professional career. After his passing in 2016, Lindy’s son Brad Infante and daughter-in-law Stephanie launched the Lindy Infante Foundation to ensure that all children in need have the opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.
ABOUT BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF COLUMBUS
Boys & Girls Club of Columbus (BGCC) has been providing after school and summer programming to underserved youth in Columbus since 1948. An affiliate of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, which serves more than 4 million youth annually throughout the United States, Boys & Girls Club of Columbus’ mission is to empower the young people who need us most to realize their potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens. The organization’s youth development programs focus on three program pillars: 1) Academic Success 2) Good Character & Citizenship 3) Healthy Lifestyles and are available to youth ages 6-18. The Clubs are open Monday through Friday from 3pm to 8pm during the school year and from 10am to 5pm during the summer. Youth pay an annual fee of $5 to join the Club and as Club members have unlimited access to the Club and all activity offerings provided during the program day.
On Thursday, December 14, 2017, the Lindy Infante Foundation officially kicked open its non-profit doors by hosting a “friendraiser” at The Exchange in Dublin. In attendance were friends, family, co-workers and former teammates of Lindy’s. The event offered the attendees the opportunity to hear Lindy’s story first hand as told by his son and his wife and also to hear the impact Lindy had on those whose life he touched through coaching. The launch party was a huge success and the Foundation has exceeded all expectations during their first year of operation thanks in large part to the folks that came, enjoyed the evening, heard the story, were inspired and spread the word.