Young Quakers Community Athletics

 

Young Quakers Community Athletics (YQCA), a collaboration between Penn Athletics and the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, creates mutually beneficial relationships between Penn intercollegiate athletic teams and University-Assisted Community Schools (UACS) which are neighborhood public schools in West Philadelphia.  YQCA programming includes on-field and off-field skill development, mentoring, games and inter-school competitions. YQCA provides staff, coaches, uniforms, sports equipment, bus transportation, and access to the University’s world-class playing fields at no cost to the schools or their students. Penn student-athletes (Big Quakers) and West Philadelphia students (Young Quakers), form bonds that affect the participants, the University, and the community in positive and profound ways. 

Founded in 2012 with boys’ lacrosse at Comegys University-Assisted Community School, YQCA quickly grew to include girls’ lacrosse and co-ed track and field. Today the partnership includes K-8th grade students from three University- Assisted Community Schools: Comegys Elementary, Hamilton Elementary, and Lea Elementary and five Penn teams that have adopted the YQCA model: Men’s Lacrosse, Women’s Lacrosse, Track and Field, Men's Basketball, and Women's Basketball.

See feature on Young Quakers in Spring 2024 Penn Parents Magazine.

In 2020, Young Quakers Community Athletics was named a National Youth Sports Strategy (NYSS) Champion.

Click here to see YQCA Program Goals & Core Components.

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