PE & Play Initiative

Thanks to Nike, and other community partners, all elementary schools and several middle schools received new equipment to reenergize their students during PE class.

PE & Play

Funded by: Nike

Mountain View Middle School student playing disc golf

At A Glance:

BEF Investment: $50,000

18,500

Students at 40 schools benefitted from PE & Play investments

“It’s been night and day since we got the new PE equipment,” says Jeff Steindorf, one of the PE and Health teachers at Mountain View. In 2023-2024, BEF’s PE + Play initiative made it possible for MountainView Middle School students to double the number of sports activities they do in PE class. Now, they enjoy playing disc golf, pickleball, corn hole, ladder ball, volleyball, indoor and outdoor soccer, and so much more.For the past two years, BEF’s PE + Play initiative refilled school gyms with basic equipment like basketballs, soccer balls, jump ropes, Frisbees, hula hoops, and scooters.We impacted approximately 18,500students at 40 of our schools. “Now our students are more focused and involved in PE class. Sometimes middle schoolers are afraid of failure and get caught in a rut. Our new equipment exposes them to new things, and it gives them an open mind to participate and try new things,” Steindorf says.

We’re getting students hooked on lifelong fitness. They’re starting to do some of these sports on their own outside of school by themselves and with their families.

Jeff Steindorf, PE and Health teacher at Mountain View Middle School

We recognize this money could have been donated elsewhere, but please know that the looks on students’ faces when they saw that they were about to experiment with dumbbells and battle ropes made it worth every penny.

PE & Health Team, Whitford Middle School

Aloha High School Student Run Business: Doggie Dots

What started with a single social media post to a BEF fundraising site has resulted in video and television coverage, highlighting Doggie Dots at the Washington County K9 Trials and nearly $35,000 in donations from supporters around the world.

Middle School Extended Day Programs

Now in its 15th year, the Safe and Sound for Student Success (S4) program offered by BEF continued its vital work in the 2024-25 school year. Eight middle schools participated, serving 1,184 middle school students with an extended school day with access to extracurricular coupled with academic accountability.

Independent Living Skills for Community Transition Program Students

BEF is proud to support the Community Transition Program with a $10,000 investment for groceries and equipment needed to help students build independent living skills in the kitchen.

Early Risers Chess Club

Early means early! Fir Grove Chess Club members, all 3rd through 5th graders, show up at 6:55 am to play. Not only do they learn the game and have fun with classmates, but they also learn skills that help them become better and more confident students.