J Life | Jan-March 2019 jan-mar-19-jlife-USE | Page 10

During a Men’s Group meetup at The Tucson J,
President & CEO, Todd Rockoff, led a tour of the
facility. Joey says he was drawn to the focus The J
places on being a community catalyst and being so
open to collaborating with other organizations.
This year, student athletes will come to Camp J in
Chad’s honor. Also in the works, a sports equipment
drive for the holidays.
“I knew I wanted to give
children the same opportunities
I had growing up, to attend
some pretty amazing events at
The J and more importantly,
have the chance to start
building relationships that
will last a lifetime.” says Joey.
“We have lots of ideas to help
support our future leaders of
the community and Todd has
been so open to engaging with
our creativity.”
CHAD’S CHAMPIONS
OFFICIAL MISSION:
Chad’s Champions’ purpose is to promote and facilitate the participation
in youth sports by children and teens in southern Arizona who would
otherwise face financial barriers to entry. It is well-established that
childhood participation in sports leads to myriad benefits including
physical fitness, better school performance, and enhanced socials skills.
Research even shows a correlation between youth participation in sports
and increased likelihood of attending college. However, due to costs
associated with organized youth sports, children from disadvantaged
socioeconomic backgrounds are often unable to participate.
Chad’s Champions aims to ameliorate this problem through: awarding
financial assistance to attend sports leagues and camps; organizing and
leading community events that advocate for youth fitness, health, and
philanthropy; partnering with other charitable organizations, schools,
and community groups to fund sports participation for individual
children; and to provide additional mentoring opportunities for children.
10 J LIFE