More youth sports coming to Camden
Camden officials, residents, and business leaders Wednesday applauded political power broker George E. Norcross III's launch of a citywide youth athletics organization, a group Norcross said would help children in Camden enjoy the same opportunities for team sports as those who live in the suburbs.
Camden officials, residents, and business leaders Wednesday applauded political power broker George E. Norcross III's launch of a citywide youth athletics organization, a group Norcross said would help children in Camden enjoy the same opportunities for team sports as those who live in the suburbs.
The Camden Health and Athletic Association, which also will function as a health-care organization for families, will be funded initially by $1 million from the Cooper Foundation, the charitable arm of Cooper University Health Care, and the Norcross Foundation and AmeriHealth New Jersey. Norcross, the millionaire insurance executive who is head of Cooper University Hospital's board of trustees and who has focused his considerable influence on Camden in recent years, said he expected to raise "many millions more" to develop new fields and practice facilities in the impoverished city.
"Clearly the facilities don't exist at the levels they should," said Norcross, who was joined at a news conference at Cooper University Hospital by a host of former professional athletes who pledged their support. "The organizations don't exist at the level they should."
Camden Mayor Dana Redd, who was raised in Camden, spoke of her own experiences playing sports as a child.
"These fond memories are the memories we need to create for the city," she said.
The nonprofit organization will offer support to the city's existing sports programs, as well as create new teams. The CHAA will be governed by an athletic director, advisory boards for each sport, and a board of trustees, and will be able to assist with everything from equipment purchases to fund-raising and grant-writing.
Susan Bass Levin, president of the Cooper Foundation, has offered assurance to city sports programs that the CHAA would have no say in their day-to-day operations. Some community leaders have said they would work with the CHAA as long as their organizations can retain their independence and identities.
Members of the Camden County police force will volunteer as coaches and umpires, and the school district has offered use of its buildings and fields for practices. Norcross said he would ask the city's parents to volunteer time as well.
Ron Jaworski, the former Eagles quarterback, president of the Philadelphia Soul arena football team, and founder of a charity for at-risk youth, said the CHAA could be a prototype for how cities work with youth.
"This is a defining and historical moment for Camden," he said.
Camden native Bryan Morton, who founded the North Camden Little League in 2011 and watched it grow to more than 700 players, said youth sports create safe spaces for children who face challenges at home. When baseball season ends, he said, coaches worry about what will happen to their players, and fear those children will not see a future beyond the crime-ridden streets outside their front doors.
"Tomorrow's hope is being stolen before our victims even know it's gone," Morton said.
ESPN correspondent Sal Paolantonio said that in the moments before the news conference began, he watched as an oversize, million-dollar check for the new organization was displayed at the front of the room.
"I said to myself, we all know George Norcross means business," he said.
856-779-3876 @AESteele
