It may sound cliché, but the reality is that many kids in Santa Barbara live with parents who work long hours, and these kids are left to entertain themselves in their down time.

The problem with this is that many times when kids are left to look after themselves, they can be misled and end up with the “wrong crowd.”

For many, this is the reality. The Santa Barbara community is diligent in its goal to improve this situation.

The reason some kids may turn to gangs, drugs, or violence is because they simply don’t have anything else to do.

Many schools do not offer significant extracurricular activities, and some families are forced to pay for either admission into a pricey sports program, or for balls, bats, jerseys, and other extremely costly equipment which they just cannot afford.

The Sports Drive is just one way to help. The Sports Drive offers solutions to these problems, not only by providing kids with equipment necessary to play sports outside of school, but also by allowing low income families to sign their kids up for memberships at Boys and Girls Clubs through our Scholarship Program.

On Feb. 25 the doors opened for the third year of the annual program.

It took months of planning all the details for the event to guarantee that all went well on the big day.

Two thousand tickets were circulated to kids throughout the Santa Barbara community through community leaders with whom the group has  established relationships with over the years.

“The turnout was amazing! We are proud to proclaim that the SPORTS DRIVE enticed over 1,500 kids to come into the

Boys & Girls Club gym to pick out their favorite gear of the day,” said founders Eli Bittleston and Eddie Conk.

“I see every day here at the club the impact that one community event can do to help change the outlook for some of these families in this area and what a difference it is making here at the club,” Kim Kjar, Director of SB Boys and Girls Club said.

By the Numbers:

3,800
Kids served

12,000
Pieces of sports equipment collected and distributed

106
Full Boys & Girls Club scholarships given

42
Kids received their first bikes

25%
Increase in participation this year