PYFA's Digital Touchdowns

Our project will help our youth improve their healthspan through nutrition, supplements, exercise, and lifestyle recommendations. And to provide youth with a personal health analysis and data-driven wellness guide designed to help your youth live healthier longer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which is home to more than 1.5 million residents, is tackling obesity and tobacco use throughout the community. Approximately 67.9% of adults in the city and approximately 41% of youth aged 6-17 are overweight or obese. Our Digital Touchdown component was visioned to assist our youth with avoiding developing future, chronic diseases and obesity.

Our project will use samples of recorded exercises and other related fitness activities to track data and help our youth optimize their health, wellness and athletic performance. This will also be used to increase their socialization with their peers, coaches and families.  Our "Digital Touchdown" is shareable digital credentials that would demonstrate and verify competencies. The digital badges are meant to display experience and document skills for wider audiences. Kind of humble bragging and scoring in life for our youth. This will give them incentive to become more active and socially active.

Pointing to their cell-phone screens, our youth would be able to show that their digital credentials are verifiable-that they completed various physical fitness and related activities. It would be proof they have been working out, learning and dedicated to their betterment and our project. Socially, it would bridge the gap amongst our introverted youth and get them to become more social. It would give our youth more incentive to work out more, and positively compete with their peers. It would be affordable for our youth, because ninety five percent of them, are from low-income families.

Our staff has nearly sixty total years of experience working in Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey; adjacent urban cities. Our staff has vast experience working in nonprofit and in sports-based youth development. We all have a great connection working with urban youth. Some of our staff are personal trainers and have experience working with sports science technology. All of us have backgrounds in football and program implementation/execution. 

Due to unforeseen circumstances, timing was off. My concept was put off. Having time now, I was "led" to apply now. I have networked with Philadelphia area sports sciences and technology gurus; getting their opinions and thoughts on my concept. If my concept is funded (or not), I will re-connect with those gurus and start pre production and more.  A rough draft design has been created. Our project would serve 45-50 youth. 

This experience seems it will offer me unique opportunities for one-on-one hands-on field experience, really allowing me to dive deep into the work I’m doing. In exchange, I will learn more by broadening my horizons. This opportunity seems to hyper-focused on one’s professional skills. This is extremely important, by having professionals that are hyper-focused on the individual’s skills it allows the fellow to sharpen their skills in a new environment and new setting, while maximizing their impact. Lastly, while participating in the fellowship, are not only will I further my professional skills, but I will learn as a “student” – learn from and with others like myself, along with accomplishing goals together with the help my continued leadership skills. These are reasons why I want to participate in your organization’s 2025 MIT SOLVE Cohort.  

Our PYFA "Digital Touchdown" is a pilot, pioneering program that would provide evidence of accomplishments, aptitude and abilities that may be learned outside of normal strength and conditioning, off-season training. For each exercise, training program completed; youth will be awarded a "digital touchdown". This would collected data of their task completion and weight loss/gain. If funded, our devices work together to collect data and customize ways for us to optimize what foods eaten and fitness across a range of physical and mental measurements. Our organization would be the lone sports-based youth development program using this technology. 

The "Digital Touchdown" would allow our youth to provide an evidence-based record of what they have learned and what they can do. It could social bonding with their peers, family and others. Their collected data would provide our coaches and their parents/caregivers with a way to see and assess their progress (or lack of). This devices could help us track and measure various aspects of our youths' wellness and fitness. 

Our goals are to ensure our youth would have more personalized care, and better social engagement with everyone their involved with. This would elevate their knowledge and use of today's digital world-especially with health-wellness apps, portals, personalized digital and knowledge of their health information. Being involved with our pilot program, eighty percent of our youth would lose weight, become less obese and decrease their unhealthy eating. Specific indicators that will be measure would be: how many exercises and other physical fitness activities tasks completed. 

Our core technology is a electronic portfolio system where youth and job seekers can store and share their progress, activities completed and other related data often needed to unlock physical fitness and health/wellness opportunities. Developing digital touchdowns— can be showcased in an e-portfolio—would an obvious and exciting next step for PYFA.

Full-time staff: 1

Part-time staff: 4

Volunteers: 2

Potential contractors: 4

Our team has been together for two years. I've worked for my concept for several months. 

Our organization complies with all federal, state, and local employment law and is committed to equal employment. We are committed to providing equal opportunity for all without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, political affiliation, personal appearance, family responsibilities, or any other characteristic protected under federal, state, or local law. The Philadelphia Youth Football Academy's policy regarding equal opportunity applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, hiring, job assignments, promotions, working conditions, scheduling, benefits, wage and salary administration, disciplinary action, termination, and social, educational, and recreational programs.

We are a registered, 501c3, nonprofit organization. Our main beneficiaries are Philadelphia, youth of color, from mainly low-income families, from mainly marginalized areas of East Germantown; located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We received revenue from mainly our summer camp program and selling apparel. We receive both public and private donations from constituents, donors and foundations.

We anticipate funding from more grants, sponsorships, and donations. Our organization will submit proposals to funders, fellowship accelerators and established foundations. Many are a part of the Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia grantmaking. We also compiled a list of ninety other foundations. We will seek donations from various Philadelphia businesses. Future products supported financially-those who donate and provide sponsorship-would be highlighted on our website, newsletters and social media profiles. Fundraising activities will also take place.