Leveling the Playing Field: Helping Kids Stay in the Game
Leveling the Playing Field: Helping Kids Stay in the Game
Project Play, an initiative of the Aspen Institute’s Sports and Society Program, found in a recent survey that the average U.S. family spent $1,016 on their child’s primary sport in 2024—an astounding 46 percent increase from figures published in 2019.
That’s twice the rate of inflation during the same period and reflects ballooning costs that are driving the $40 billion youth athletics industry. What was once a cherished part of growing up has become big business—and a luxury many families can’t afford.
This transformation in recreation has also led to a growing income disparity. Recent reports show that only 38 percent of kids from families earning $25,000 or less play team sports, compared to 67 percent of kids from households making $100,000 or more.
This lack of equal opportunity strikes at a key element of childhood, where children play sports for fun and, in the process, benefit from socialization among teammates, gain exposure to teamwork skills, and develop healthy lifelong habits. The barriers now hampering participation aren’t just about sports; they’re limiting access to overall development and lifelong advantages.
Leveling the Playing Field (LPF) is working to change this.
Launched in Silver Spring, Maryland in 2013, the youth sports-focused initiative was created to answer the widening gap between those who can afford to play sports and those who cannot. Equipment costs play a huge role in this divide. Led by founder Max Levitt, LPF asked a question: What if there were a food-bank-style model for sports equipment?
Once its first Greater Washington D.C. area warehouse was stocked and opened, LPF was born. Successful locations in Baltimore (2018) and Philadelphia (2021) followed, and so did an overall realization: the equipment donation and distribution model could be replicated in any community with the along with a key realization: this donation-and-distribution model could work anywhere with youth sports needs, interest, and infrastructure.
“We believe that anywhere there’s a food bank, LPF can be successful and impactful,” said Kaitlin Brennan, COO of Leveling the Playing Field. “So it’s less about which communities LPF will work in, and more about which communities are we able to really come in and plug into the youth sports ecosystem.”
With support from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, LPF identified two such communities: Western New York and Southeast Michigan.
Meeting need in new communities
Since its initial launch, Leveling the Playing Field has worked to collect and distribute more than $20 million in sports apparel and equipment to over 100,000 children throughout Southeast Michigan, Western New York, Atlanta, Baltimore, Greater Washington, Ohio, and Philadelphia.
By providing direct assistance to afterschool and summer programs, youth sports leagues, schools, and neighborhood nonprofits, LPF’s 5,500 volunteers have helped families overcome financial barriers that keep kids from participating. This was an issue the Foundation identified throughout its work across Western New York and Southeast Michigan, and addressing it is central to the Foundation’s strategy to ensure more kids are active through youth sports and recreation, regardless of zip code or ability to afford it.
In LPF, Foundation leaders found a partner that can implement its strategic, youth-centered approach to getting and keeping more kids on the court, field, ice, or wherever they love to play.
“We know that we can come into a community, jump into that ecosystem, and hopefully amplify the work that is already being done to expand access and opportunity for kids to play sports,” said Brennan. “The genesis of our entry into Western New York and then Southeast Michigan was through the [Ralph C. Wilson, Jr.] Foundation. They’ve been a real champion of youth sports, not just in terms of research and making connections, but in terms of holistic investment. Through their work, we were able to connect with and really share our vision, our mission, and how we can operate within these communities.”
Connecting locally
After arriving in Western New York in 2023 and Southeast Michigan in 2024, the next step was building the infrastructure needed for collection, distribution, and a lasting regional footprint.
Project Play made that possible. As a Foundation-supported initiative investing in youth sports across both regions, it offered an immediate network for LPF to plug into. Having already built strong partnerships in D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia, LPF now needed similar local connections — and Project Play provided the entry point.
“When we knew we’d have the funding support to enter Western New York and then eventually Southeast Michigan, [Project Play] was our first stop,” she said. “[They helped us understand] what was unique and distinctive about [each region], about their challenges and opportunities, and their assets. To be able to have an insider who was not only already in that space of convening, connecting and improving youth sports, but was so generous and open with their findings, their learnings, and their locality, it just made things so much more efficient.”
From community building and stakeholder introductions to volunteer mobilization and connections with local sports teams, Project Play has been instrumental in establishing LPF’s presence. By leveraging relationships with professional teams—from the Buffalo Bills to the Detroit Pistons—these collaborations have elevated awareness and strengthened LPF’s regional brand.
According to Brennan, these partnerships are critical to connecting with those most in need, and each wouldn’t be possible without facilitation by the localized teams of Project Play.
“It’s kind of given us a cheat code on how to come in and really understand what things are working, where things can use some help, and how to be able to do that in a really rapid, open way. It’s been awesome.”
Supporting play every day
Now that its Southeast Michigan and Western New York locations are up and running, Leveling the Playing Field is already making a major impact in both communities—adding to the national momentum driving increased youth sports participation.
After a year of prep work across the region, LPF opened its Southeast Michigan warehouse on the east side of Detroit in early October 2025. Pro team–branded donation bins from the Detroit Pistons, Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings, and Dick’s Sporting Goods support collection efforts across the city. Brennan noted that well-stocked shelves and ongoing replenishment ensure coaches who visit today, next week, or later this season will find the gear their teams need.
Keeping kids playing is the name of the game, and according to local Project Play leadership, LPF is making this a reality in an effective and accessible way.
“In Southeast Michigan, we had a [Foundation-sponsored] State of Play report that found only 13 percent of kids in the area were getting the recommended 60 minutes of play per day. I think most people would agree that this isn’t good enough,” said Pat Sharrow, director of Project Play in Southeast Michigan. “[With LPF], they’re equipping organizations, coaches, kids, and families with the resources to play—and helping to shift this narrative.”
In Western New York—where LPF has operated for over a year—the results speak for themselves.
In 2024, volunteer-led operations collected more than $500,000 worth of sports equipment to impact over 60 programs, including local schools, nonprofits, and popular hockey programs like Hasek’s Heroes. In each instance, obstacles that typically impeded participation were eliminated to provide access to those eager to play—and in the case of YMCA Buffalo Niagara, let kids be kids.
“Leveling the Playing Field has been a great resource for us, particularly at our city branches,” said Greg Larson, vice president of sports and outreach for YMCA Buffalo Niagara. “It has allowed us to diversify the sports we offer without the burden of purchasing equipment to outfit the children in our programs. During our summer camps, we were able to offer a different sport each week with the equipment we received, allowing kids to experience new sports, which is a goal of ours.”
And with every donation and distributed piece of equipment comes another chance at play. This remains the joint goal of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and Leveling the Playing Field, but according to Brennan, success in Western New York or Southeast Michigan won’t be defined by specific instances of activity. It’ll be defined by the continual availability of resources for kids who want to play, practice, and progress—year after year.
“Success for Western New York and Southeast Michigan looks like sustained access to LPF for both of these youth sports communities,” she said. “When we enter a community, it’s really important that we’re not entering without a long-term plan. If folks need gear now, they’ve needed it for a long while, and they’re likely going to need it into the future to grow participation and really dream big. To remove that equipment burden is a big deal, so success for Leveling the Playing Field in Western New York and Southeast Michigan is pretty simple. It’s about establishing sustained growth and access to our equipment resources indefinitely.”
Want to get involved? Click here to sign up to volunteer, find a donation location, or learn more about Leveling the Playing Field. For more info on the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, click here.