An after-school program has received a boost to continue providing health and sports programs to hundreds of Amarillo students.
The Maverick Boys & Girls Club of Amarillo is a recipient of the Amerigroup Foundation's Triple Play grant, according to Boys & Girls Club of America.
The grant funds programs that emphasize healthy habits and activities for students in the hours after school. Maverick is one of six Boys & Girls Club divisions across Texas that will share $41,500.
Boys & Girls Club Triple Play program stresses mind, body and soul – teaching children about nutrition, physical activity and good character said Daniel Palmer, the Maverick chapter's athletic director.
"School has changed so much that not a lot of them are offered P.E. (physical education)," Palmer said. Offering sports programs including basketball, flag football, and soccer, the program always is in need of equipment. The grant will help with equipment purchases, he added.
Maverick Boys & Girls Club serves between 500 and 600 kids throughout the year at its main site, 1923 S. Lincoln St., and at satellite sites at Glenwood, Rolling Hills and San Jacinto elementary schools.
Mike Smith is a digital content producer for Panhandle PBS. Contact him at mike.smith@actx.edu, on Twitter at @newsmithm and on Facebook.
