Boston Children's Hospital

Childhood obesity is a multifaceted illness that demands determined minds, innovative approaches, comprehensive clinical care and a commitment to community education and advocacy to advance its prevention and treatment. This is exactly the scope of work of the New Balance Foundation Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention at Boston Children’s Hospital.

National Youth Running: rising new york road runners and 100 mile club

We believe kids are made to move, and we know that active kids do better – better in the classroom, better attendance, better health and fitness. That's why, since 2013, New Balance Foundation has been supporting the most democratic of sports by funding large‑scale, national youth running initiatives.Read More

Harlem Lacrosse

Harlem Lacrosse (HL) has been growing every year since its inception in 2009. The program serves 900 students in 22 school‑based programs across 5 cities. Harlem Lacrosse recruits student most in need of their support working in collaboration with school administrators to improve school attendance, grades, fitness and social‑emotional well‑being. Lacrosse is at the heart of HL’s “college‑going culture” and holistic approach to developing the social emotional skill sets of the children they serve. The sport of lacrosse is unique in its emphasis on elite college competition as the goal of every young lacrosse player. The team culture, perseverance, grit, and confidence that HL emphasizes translates directly into the classroom and students’ personal lives. Since 2009, 112 HL alumni have reached high school graduation age with a graduation rate of 89% (vs a 74% rate for their peers). With grants of $400,000 in 2018 and $400,000 in 2019, New Balance Foundation became HL’s lead funder, supporting program growth and infrastructure investments that will further HL’s commitment to serving kids from middle school through high school. New Balance Athletics and Warrior, Inc. serve as the official footwear and apparel outfitter.

American Red Cross Annual Disaster
Giving Program

New Balance Foundation has been in the American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program since 2012. Our annual donation of $500,000 helps ensure that those who rely on support during times of disasters and other emergencies are able to receive it. In 2017, in response to the devastating hurricanes that affected so many communities in the United States, we increased our donation to $1 million, and now we serve as an Annual Disaster Giving Program Member. This is a signature national giving program composed of donors that give substantially to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief.

Good Sports

Good Sports provides kids in need with the lifelong benefits of sport and physical activity by providing new equipment, apparel and footwear. Schools are eliminating physical education classes, lower‑income students are being left out of youth sports, and many youth sports programs are being shut down simply because there is no funding. New Balance Foundation and New Balance Athletics, Inc. have provided grants and in‑kind donations to Good Sports to create movement kits benefiting schools and community organizations across the country. The movement kits feature sports equipment including soccer balls, basketballs, pop-up goals, bases, jump ropes, cones and equipment bags.

Playworks

Since 2011, New Balance Foundation has been a national funder of Playworks, a non‑profit organization that provides safe, healthy and inclusive play to low‑income schools. New Balance Foundation’s more than $3 million investment helps Playworks serve more than 425,000 students in 23 cities across the United States, including in Boston and Lawrence, MA. Playworks coaches are placed in low‑income schools, helping students to stay active and build valuable social and emotional skills through play.

Tufts University Friedman School
of Nutrition Science and Policy
& ChildObesity 180

In 2004, New Balance Foundation made a ten‑year, $5 million commitment to launch Tufts’ Children in Balance, a far‑reaching initiative to combat childhood obesity and improve the long‑term health of future generations. The grant endowed the New Balance Foundation Chair in Childhood Nutrition and a number of graduate fellowships. With New Balance Foundation’s commitment, Tufts University was able to significantly enhance programs and competencies in childhood nutrition, allowing for growth in research, scholarship, advocacy, training, program testing and evaluation, as well as dissemination efforts. More recently, we granted $2.8 million to Tufts’ ChildObesity180 to support the Active Schools Acceleration Project aimed at increasing physical activity during the school day. New Balance Foundation Billion Mile Race, a campaign inviting America’s students to tally a cumulative one billion miles by participating in school‑based walking and running programs, was launched in 2015.

Two Ten Footwear Foundation

The only philanthropy in America that focuses solely on its own industry, Two Ten Footwear Foundation serves the country’s 330,000 footwear employees, including all New Balance Athletics associates, through services and programs that directly improve their lives. Two Ten provides emergency financial assistance, natural disaster recovery, and counseling services and resources for footwear employees and their families facing difficult times, in addition to educational scholarships, professional development programs and community volunteer opportunities. New Balance Foundation provides generous annual support to Two Ten, contributing significantly to Two Ten’s major campaigns and including endowed multiple academic scholarships.