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Gold Crown Foundation offers life lesson on and off the court

Focus is on creating community and opportunity
Gold Crown Foundation
Posted at 2:59 PM, Apr 16, 2022
and last updated 2022-04-18 13:55:01-04

LAKEWOOD, Colo. — At the Gold Crown Foundation, students have the potential to become incredible athletes.

In reality, that’s only one of the goals.

“We've always approached what we do not in a framework of trying to create and uncover the most elite athletes,” said Kevin Petty, executive director of the Gold Crown Foundation.

Instead, the real focus is on creating community, opportunity and access.

“As a nonprofit in this space, we continue to push towards affordability, you know, scholarships, and really just that emphasis on participating and trying out a sport that you haven't tried,” Petty said.

Gold Crown offers a variety of sports programs, many of them geared toward areas they see a significant need.

“One of the areas that we're paying close attention to is girls' participation because that, not only in the state of Colorado but nationally, has been declining,” Petty said.

Not only can life’s lessons be learned through sports but also inside of Gold Crown’s classrooms. It's something Brittany David-Ramirez knows firsthand from when she started attending the foundation’s enrichment program at 11 years old.

“I didn't have anybody to rely on really, and I was really alone, and I was going through a lot of stuff at home. So, it's just like a safe space, and I knew I could always count on the coordinators,” David-Ramirez said.

Today, she’s the clubhouse coordinator, helping children participating in the enrichment program.

“Giving back to these kids is my purpose, and that's why I’m here,” she said.

It's a crucial part of the work the foundation does every single day, free of cost.

“That program, it's not huge numbers and the volume is not there, but the impact for those kids is tremendous. A lot of these kids are dealing with incarcerated parents or there's addiction in the home, and these are kids that are like 12 years old,” Petty said.

The Gold Crown Foundation has been impacting the lives of children for the last several decades with a mission to continue their work for generations to come.

“We always ask ourselves, 'what's in the best interests of kids?' That's how we make the tough decisions," Petty said. "If we can answer that question, it usually guides us in the right direction."