Gold Medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings Donates $25K To At-risk Girls

PALO ALTO, CA — Stanford University alum Kerri Walsh Jennings, a three-time gold-medaling Olympic volleyball player who hails from San Jose, donated $25,000 in partnership with the Dicks Sporting Goods Foundation to Starlings Volleyball, USA.

The funds to benefit the San Diego-based organization helping at-risk girls through the power of volleyball were presented Saturday, Walsh's camp announced Monday. Starlings Volleyball USA is the nation's largest junior volleyball club, with teams in more than 50 cities and Native American reservations throughout the United States. More than 30,000 girls have participated in the program since its inception and about 2,500 girls are currently involved.

Before the donation through the Dicks Sports Matter Program, Walsh Jennings and coaches from her p1440 team led a volleyball clinic for about 30 Starlings athletes at Bolsa Chica State Park in Huntington Beach.

Catch a glimpse of the event.

Since 2014, DICK’S Sporting Goods with its foundation has totaled $105 million in grants and sponsorships to raise awareness for the cause and address the growing issues of underfunded youth sports programs nationwide. The Sports Matter Program is such an endeavor that falls in line with Walsh Jennings' Zen-like qualities, mantra and way of living.

Walsh Jennings is a long-time advocate of healthy lifestyles equating to a balanced well-being through sports.

Studies have shown their connections. For example, physically active youngsters have up to 40 percent higher test scores and are less likely to engage in high-risk behaviors, according to an Aspen Institute Project Play. As they age, those youngsters who grow up playing sports are four times more likely to attend college, the U.S. Department of Education reported.

Walsh has traveled the world with those messages in mind to accompany her competitive volleyball skills. She's making a run for the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo with a new playing partner, Brooke Sweat — an 11-year beach volleyball veteran.

Walsh Jennings came home to the Silicon Valley last September to stage a p1440 invitational team event before thousands of people.

See also

• Olympian Kerri Walsh Showcases Volleyball, Wellness In Hometown