Golden State Valkyries use proceeds from jersey sales to empower girls in sports
The Golden State Valkyries, who are set to begin play later this year, are trying to better the community with their uniform sales and they have partnered with Kaiser Permanente to do it.
Twenty-five dollars from every jersey purchased will go to the Warriors Community Foundation and support programs designed to empower Bay Area girls to live healthy, active lifestyles.
Ava Nicholas, an 18-year-old from Walnut Creek, already knows how important it is to be involved in sports.
"I think growing up it was really special to me to have people working towards the same goal as me and to have people who supported me," said Nicholas about playing basketball and being on a team.
Nicholas just finished her final year of playing basketball for Northgate High School. She's played for the last 14 years, beating the odds.
A survey by the charity Women in Sport found about half of girls drop out of sports around puberty. That's about double the number of boys that disengage from athletics.
Nicholas said there was a time she thought about quitting.
"I was definitely discouraged," Nicholas recalled. "On social media especially, there will be guys being like 'oh she's a girl so she's not that good.' You see a lot of hate with Caitlyn Clark when she was on the rise, but I think that that's really impactful to a lot of young girls, especially because social media is such a big thing and it really discourages them for going into it."
Instead of swerving, she stayed on course and it's changed her life for the better.
"For me, basketball was a great outlet where I felt like I belonged and I had a community," said Nicholas.
President of the Valkyries Jess Smith said it was important for both organizations that their partnership benefit the community.
"The societal outcomes for kids that stay in sport are high, specifically women in sport as well. So we really look forward to this jersey meaning something more," Smith told CBS News Bay Area.
As a female Bay Area teen athlete Nicholas was excited to hear about the program.
"I think dedicating funds to these programs is really super special because it'll give, especially under resourced communities a change to thrive especially because of how expensive materials and programs can be," said Nicholas.
She knows the positive impact sports had on her upbringing. She hopes this program and the representation of a local WNBA team will allow more girls to have the similar positive experiences.
"It taught me a lot of good life lessons about being a leader and speaking up and connecting with different people," said Nicholas.
Supporting the theory if you can see it, you can be it.
