Gals That Give hosts dinner for youth sports foundation
Gals That Give, a nonprofit organization that brings Delaware women together to get involved with other local philanthropies, hosted a Gal’s Night Out dinner April 3 at Baywood Greens in Long Neck to benefit the Jason Anderson Foundation for Youth Sports.
The dinner, which featured a pick-a-prize auction, cash bar and 50/50 raffle, raised a total of $8,508. Auction items, mostly donated by local businesses, families and individuals, included self-care products, a poker table, bikes, coolers, various wines, Mother’s Day baskets, a car care package, autographed sports paraphernalia, a voucher for free summer camp, art, kitchenware, gardening tools, a TV, a beach basket, a margarita-making kit, gift cards and much more.
“Every single dollar raised goes right back to a child,” said Kathy Newcomb, who serves on the Jason Anderson Foundation board of directors. “There is no overhead; the board members are volunteers. That’s pretty unique for an organization, that they can give back 100 percent.”
The foundation is dedicated to ensuring all Delaware children have the opportunity to participate in organized youth sports. It helps cover team registration fees for young athletes in financial need.
It was created in memory of the late Jason Anderson, a Delaware resident and lifelong sports fanatic who died in an automobile accident in 2015 at the age of 33. Anderson grew up playing sports and pursued a career in professional sports.
His father Marc, foundation president, spoke at the dinner about the confidence that playing youth sports gave Jason. He recalled when Jason first started playing tackle football at age 13, at his first practice with full pads, when he was slammed to the ground during a drill.
“First attempt, he gets hammered,” Marc said. “Gets in the back of the line, second attempt, same result. Third attempt, same result, but now I can see his shoulders are starting to shake a little, and you can start to see the tears coming, and obviously Jason was trying to hold back, didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of the other kids.”
At the end of practice, Marc said, they walked back to the car in silence, a clear sign that Jason was upset, as he was usually very talkative.
“We get in the car, he takes his helmet off, and you can see the dirt, and the streaks from the sweat, and the streaks from the tears and a little bit of blood on his lip,” Marc continued. “And I looked at him, and I said, ‘You know, Jase, I would never encourage you to quit at anything, because that’s not the kind of person I want you to be, but if you want to quit football, I will be OK with that, and I’ll support you 100%.’ He sat there for a few seconds, and he looked at me and said, ‘No, I want to play.’”
According to Marc, that was a defining moment in his son’s life. Jason went to every practice and every game after that, and his confidence grew with each day, even carrying over to other sports he played, like basketball and baseball.
“That’s why we believe so strongly in youth sports,” Marc said. “Sports are challenging, but so is life. That’s why we do what we do.”
As Jason got older, he began volunteering for Autism Delaware, the Brain Injury Association of Delaware, the Delaware Sports Commission and the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce. He enjoyed helping kids in any way he could.
Since its inception in 2016, the Jason Anderson Foundation has awarded over $72,000 in grants and scholarships to young athletes and teams in Delaware communities. Over the past two years, it has given out more than $13,000 in individual scholarships and has collaborated with organizations like Delaware Destroyers Baseball, Delmarva Rush Soccer, Sussex Family YMCA, Olympiad Gymnastics, KidStrong Middletown and Factory Sports.
Most recently, it paid for swim lessons for local foster children, enabling them to learn a skill that’s especially important for living near the beach.
Gals That Give started in Kent County in 2013 and has since expanded across the state. Since its inception, the nonprofit has hosted 78 events and has raised more than $485,000 for various local charities.
Ellen McIntyre is a reporter covering education and all things Dewey Beach. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Penn State - Schreyer Honors College in May 2024, then completed an internship writing for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In 2023, she covered the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand as a freelancer for the Associated Press and saw her work published by outlets including The Washington Post and Fox Sports. Her variety of reporting experience covers crime and courts, investigations, politics and the arts. As a Hockessin, Delaware native, Ellen is happy to be back in her home state, though she enjoys traveling and learning about new cultures. She also loves live music, reading, hiking and spending time in nature.
