Spring/Summer 2013 Newsletter Extended: Giants
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A "GIANTS" PARTNERSHIP
By Laurel Thomson (RPTA '15), Staff Writer
Note. This article has been modified slightly from a Cal Poly Public Affairs press release published in May 2013.
Dr. Brian Greenwood, an associate professor in Recreation, Parks, & Tourism Administration (RPTA) at Cal Poly, was recently approved to continue with Year 3 of a research partnership with the San Francisco Giants Community Fund. The partnership involves program evaluation for their flagship program, the Junior Giants.
The Junior Giants is a free baseball program that provides an opportunity for children in underserved communities to stay active in the summer in a positive environment that promotes healthy choices, character development, and violence prevention. From Nipomo to Las Vegas to Medford (OR), there are 82 Junior Giants leagues throughout the Giants "footprint," and the program is entering its 19th year of service to the community.
The applied research being conducted by Greenwood has centered on assessing the program outcomes associated with the Junior Giants in triangulating data from participants, parents, and coaches. “Ultimately, survival for today’s nonprofit programs depends in part upon a successful evaluation program. Evaluation is critical in documenting success and improving in critical areas,” says Greenwood.
The partnership has also generated a wealth of opportunities for Cal Poly students. In the pilot year of 2011, four Cal Poly research assistants were hired to visit leagues and collect data at the 10 pilot sites. In 2012, the study was expanded to include 25 leagues, and an Ambassador program was developed where college students served as regional liaisons for the leagues and research assistants for the study. Eight of the 23 initial Ambassadors were Cal Poly students, and RPTA graduate student Jeanette Kim was funded as a graduate assistant for the study.
In 2013, as an indirect result of the research partnership, the Ambassador program was fully funded and expanded to 50 paid interns. Eighteen Cal Poly students applied for positions, and 11 were selected as Ambassadors and assigned leagues in which to work directly during the 8-week summer season. In addition, Matt Hanson, a 4th year Cal Poly RPTA student was named Lead Ambassador. Hanson will be completing his internship this summer through the program and traveling to leagues across the region to assist leagues and Ambassadors with their operations.
Traveling to leagues and hearing parents speak about what Junior Giants means to them and their children has made quite an impression on Greenwood. He says, “On my very first league visit, a mother in Modesto chased me down as I was leaving and said, ‘I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful this program is for me and my boys. I live paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford Little League. Without Junior Giants, my boys would not receive the gift of baseball in their lives. It means so much to us.’”
For more information about the Giants Community Fund and the Junior Giants, visit http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/sf/community/gcf/juniorgiants.jsp.
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