subject: To Empower Youth To Reach Their Highest Potential As Individuals And To Develop A Positive Self-imag [print this page] September 8, 2010 September 8, 2010
Mayor Annise Parker
City Of Houston Mayors Office
901 Bagby Street, 3rd Floor
Houston, TX 77002
Hi Mayor Annise Parker,
Our program, Rice/UH Youth Sports (RUH Youth Sports Foundation), is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization originally started 11 years ago by student athletes and alumni from Rice University and University of Houston. We provide an opportunity for boys and girls ages 9-16 years to learn discipline and build self-confidence through basketball.
Basketball, as a team sport, encourages youth to develop positive character traits including TEAM SPIRIT, SHARING, WORKING WITH OTHERS, ANGER MANAGEMENT, PHYSICAL FITNESS, FOCUS, SPORTSMANSHIP, and AND RESPECT FOR OTHERS.
Our program fills up quickly based on our current gym space being used to capacity. We would like to expand our program to make it available to more children and provide financial aid for those with economic needs.
We seek a building donation from the city that is 40,000-50,000 square feet that can be renovated to use a large portion for creating 4 full basketball courts and a community center for boys and girls. We already have some construction companies that express interest and will donate time and supplies for portions of the renovations project. We just need a building that is in adequate shape to allow this project to go forward.
Furthermore, we also ask for a 5-7 year tax holiday to allow our program to raise funds for these and other operating costs. The donation of the building with tax holiday on state and local taxes would allow our program to expand from 30-40 kids per year to OVER 2,000 boys and girls ages 8-16 years from around the Houston area, including those that would become part of the program through training and learning activities at the community center.
We look forward to discussing the logistics with you soon and thank you in advance for your support,
