By Cassandra Aman
In its three years of existence, the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation (ESYHF) has already managed to help more than 2,000 inner-city children in Philadelphia. Although the program attracts children by offering the opportunity to play hockey at no cost, the program’s core values are to instill the importance of teamwork, boost self-esteem, model respect and provide educational assistance to help youth stay in school.
In 2007, with the desire to expand its opportunities to feature programming exclusively for girls, ESYHF reached out to the Women’s Sports Foundation, applying for a GoGirlGo! national grant. With the assistance of the grant, ESYHF was able to provide 75 girls, ages 8-13, with a girls-only program. Joining forces with ice rinks in key inner-city neighborhoods, ESYHF has created an after-school program for children five days a week and has even been able to extend its programming to weekends. Without substantive structured activities during critical out-of-school hours, children could easily succumb to negative influences. High-risk behaviors prevent more than 40 percent of girls in the School District of Philadelphia from graduating each year. ESYHF provides the tools necessary to ensure that its participants stay on track for on-time graduation. 
In 2008 Pennsylvania grant sponsor The Hershey Company and the Women’s Sports Foundation renewed GoGirlGo! funding. As a result 90 percent of last year’s girls returned to the program, plus an additional 28. High retention can be attributed to girls-only ice sessions with female coaches, strong community ties and quality programming, emphasizing education, both traditional and practical. Last season, girls estimated how much it would cost per year to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day after reading the “Kicking Butts” section of the GoGirlGo! curriculum. When asked how they would spend the sum, even though the book suggested things like shoes, clothes or a vacation, two players, without hesitation, said, “I would save it for college, of course.”
Not surprisingly, one of the most frequent challenges facing ESYHF is the misconception that ice hockey is a boys’ sport. In order to emphasize the message that hockey is for everyone, ESYHF continually strives to increase its exposure at community outreach events. In its ongoing efforts to introduce more girls to the great sport of hockey, the foundation provides free skating and instructional clinics for girls, which regularly include appearances by members of the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL), food and prizes. As a result, girls gain the understanding that they have just as much of a right to play the sport of hockey as boys.
Once in the program, the girls can continue to participate year after year. When they outgrow their equipment, ESYHF will replace it at no cost. “When a girl graduates from our program, she does so with respect for herself and respect for other women as athletes and as leaders,” said Maria Leonetti, ESYHF Finance and Development Manager, “Skills can be viewed as personal assets that will help them develop resiliency and long-term physical, mental and social health.”