LONDON--(Marketwire - Oct 3, 2011) - Skateboard legend and Laureus World Sport Academy Member Tony Hawk will visit the DC SCORES program at Shaw Middle School on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at noon to meet students who are set to lose their sports funding following recent national budget cut announcements. That afternoon, he will attend the Up2Us National Summit, Think Globally, Play Local, which is co-sponsored by the Laureus Sport For Good Foundation. He will also present an award at the Up2Us Coach of the Year Reception that evening.
The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation celebrates the universal power of sport to bring people together as a force for good and uses the passion that sport inspires to effect social change across the globe.
Up2Us, which has been supported by Laureus for the past three years, is a non-profit coalition of youth sports organizations. The focus of the summit is its latest research study that reveals youth sports budget cuts reached $1.5 billion for the 2010-2011 school year, in addition to the estimated $2 billion cut from 2009-2010.
As part of this year's conference, there will be a series of meetings with congressmen and senators on Capitol Hill to campaign for more importance and funding on sport for social change initiatives. Tony Hawk will be going to these meetings to represent the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. He will also discuss the benefits of using sport as a tool for social development to address the challenges facing U.S. youth such as obesity, underage pregnancy, high school dropout rates and gang crime.
"Laureus' mission is to harness the power of sport to promote social change," said Hawk. "Youth sports budget cuts are occurring at an alarming rate and will have a significant impact on the development of this generation. We fully support Up2Us in order to heighten awareness of this important issue."
Hawk, a skateboarding legend, is the best-known action sportsman in history. During his 20-year competitive career, he defied gravity with his outlandish tricks and became a role model to millions of young people around the world.
He was given his first skateboard at the age of nine, turned professional at 14 and by 16 was acknowledged as the best skateboarder in the world. Hawk won 12 World Championships, 13 X Games medals and invented over 80 tricks. He entered 103 professional contests, winning 73 of them and finishing second in 19.
About Laureus
Laureus (www.laureus.com) comprises the Laureus World Sports Academy, the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and the Laureus World Sports Awards. Collectively, these three elements form the essence of Laureus, harnessing the power of sport to promote social change and celebrating sporting excellence. Laureus celebrates the universal power of sport to bring people together as a force for good, passionately embodying the very spirit of sport -- the pursuit of excellence, overcoming challenges, celebrating achievement and excellence, and winning against the odds.
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