Pau Gasol and Gasol Foundation USA Host Galactic Sports Event to Promote Children’s Wellness

Pau Gasol and Gasol Foundation USA hosted an interactive demonstration of their Galactic Sports program with children at Hoover Elementary School in Los Angeles, California on Monday, December 11th, 2023.

Galactic Sports consists of basic sports skills and wellness lessons. The program takes children through 10 weekly one-hour trainings/lessons in a sport, while also teaching them the importance of healthy habits (physical activity, healthy eating, sleep, and emotional well-being). All of these sessions are free to participants and taught by trained health educators. 

Gasol Foundation also provides materials to the participants, including t-shirts, sports merchandise, and supporting content. 

The event began with brief one-on-one conference sessions with Pau and the media discussing his philanthropic initiatives with Gasol Foundation USA and efforts promoting children’s wellness in Southern California. The overall purpose of this event is to raise awareness about Gasol Foundation and the childhood obesity pandemic, increase visibility to Galactic Foundation USA programs and initiatives, and strengthen commitment with children and families. The event concluded with Pau and the children discussing the importance of healthy habits and participating in a Galactic Sports basketball demonstration consisting of fun basketball games and drills. 

We are thankful to our partners, YMCA Los Angeles, for collaborating with us for this event. It was a complete success, and the children had a blast. We look forward to our continued partnership as we work towards the health and well-being for all youth in Los Angeles. 

Gasol Foundation USA is excited to share that we have been awarded a grant from the LA84 Foundation! 

The LA84 Foundation is a nationally recognized leader in support of youth sport programs and public education and advocates for the important role sports participation plays in positive youth development. Created with a share of the 1984 Olympic Games surplus, LA84 began operations in 1985 as a grant making and educational foundation. The foundation supports hundreds of non-profit youth sports organizations throughout Southern California annually, trains coaches, commissions research, convenes conferences and maintains the world’s premier Olympic and sports library collection. 

LA84 gives special consideration to organizations and efforts that can impact at scale children and youth. They focus their support on organizations that view sports as an integral way to develop children and youth to be healthy, happy, and engaged individuals. 

As part of the LA84 protocol, a site visit of our Galactic Sports program was conducted at Hoover Elementary School the following month after applying for the grant. One week after the visit, we learned that Gasol Foundation USA had been awarded the grant. 

Funds from this grant will help with Galactic Sports program costs, including staffing, and purchasing of sports equipment. 

We look forward to sharing with you all about the accomplishments that result from this LA84 grant! 

Gasol Foundation USA’s Galactic Sports winter programming, in collaboration with Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation, will begin in January 2023 at the following locations: El Cariso Community Regional Park (Sylmar, CA), Del Aire Park (Hawthorne, CA), Pamela Park (Duarte, CA), Amelia Mayberry Park (Whittier, CA), Ruben F Salazar Park (East Los Angeles, CA), and Lennox Park (Lennox, CA). Register today – and we’ll see you there! 

Galactic Sports is a community-based program promoting sports and healthy habits. The goal of the program is to reduce risk of childhood obesity among children by engaging them in sports and promoting these healthy habits: diet, physical activity, sleep, and emotional well-being. Galactic Sports is for children ages 6-13. The activities are designed for beginners to gain confidence in the sport.

Programs Go
Research Go
Donate Go