Young Quakers Community Athletics

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Young Quakers Community Athletics (YQCA), a collaboration between the Netter Center for Community Partnerships and Penn Athletics, creates mutually beneficial partnerships between Penn intercollegiate athletic teams and West Philadelphia public schools.

YQCA establishes athletic teams with students from Penn’s University-Assisted Community Schools (UACS) in West Philadelphia and engages them with Penn’s varsity teams. YQCA currently operates during after school time with students in grades 4 through 8.

The Penn players mentor the children on the field and off. In addition to the mentoring, 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. The public school students also benefit from the Netter Center’s comprehensive UACS programming, which brings additional academic, human, and material resources from Penn to their schools during the school day, after school, and in the summer.

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 we serve 4th-8th grade students from four University Assisted Community Schools: Comegys Elementary, Hamilton Elementary, Lea Elementary, and Mitchell Elementary. We work with three Penn teams that have adopted the YQCA model: Men’s Lacrosse, Women’s Lacrosse, and Track and Field.

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

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Partner Websites

• Penn Athletics and Recreation
• Comegys Elementary School
• Hamilton Elementary School 
• Lea Elementary School
• Mitchell Elementary School

For more information, contact:

Jennifer Chu, Director of Young Quakers Community Athletics Program, jenx@sas.upenn.edu
Paige Lombard, Associate Director of Young Quakers Community Athletics Program, plombard@sas.upenn.edu 

Thank you to our supporters:

YQCA Donors: 

• Anonymous (2)
• Charles B. Leitner III, C'81 PAR'12 PAR'18 and Rose Marie P. Leitner, PAR'12 PAR'18
• Michael J. Murphy, GED ‘04 and Lisa P. Murphy
• Jeffrey L. Neuman, W'66 WG'67 and Nancy A. Neuman CW'74 WG'76
• Steve Roth, W'66 PAR'93 PAR'95
• Adria M. Sheth, C’97 and Brian N. Sheth, W’97, Sangreal Foundation
• Independence Blue Cross
• KIND
• Macquarie Investment Management
• Moorestown Lacrosse Club
• Philadelphia Lacrosse Association
• US Lacrosse 
• US Track and Field

Urban Youth Lacrosse Jamboree Donors:

• David H. Barnes
• J. Scott Breig & Gerayln R. Breig
• Zachrey T. Colburn
• Peter E. Coleman & Lucille M. Coleman
• Kenneth C. Loeber & Elizabeth M. Loeber
• Brian E. Mann
• Michael B. Perskey & Kim R. Perskey
• Christopher Schenck
• William J. Schreiner
• Ronald K. Smolokoff