Project Background Tribe7 began when a group of NYC based coaches/parents out of Princeton and Brown University, whom had already been alloted a lifetime of opportunities for their love of the game, were driven to action when the box of lax gear they donated each year got smaller, while the bill got bigger. For low end stuff. In the face of extreme pricing, we decided to make a stand. For lesser advantaged players, and for the game. Utilizing the services of the Brown Engineering Dept and feedback from coaches and players at Harvard, Princeton, Brown, and Darien and Greenwich High Schools, we came up with what is now a top-selling lacrosse head design, as well as a line of shafts, gloves, pads, women’s goggles, and soon, the crowning achievement, if you will, a helmet. Our story has begun by lowering the cost of donating gear by 62.5%, after tax deductions. The next chapter, which we are asking you to help us write, is to make use of these savings in an impactful way. We will begin in NYC, with the Public School Athletic league as a partner. Donations are 100% tax-exempt. A letter from the PSAL will be delivered to you for accounting and record keeping. |
The Optimus Project: A Private/Public Partnership with NYC's PSAL
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| Tribe7 Lacrosse was founded on the ideal that every kid should have the opportunity to play and grow by a game that keeps on giving. The Optimus Project is the realization of this ideal. It's been a joy to watch lacrosse grow across the nation, as affluent communities take it up with enthusiasm. Unfortunately, some barriers of entry have grown with it, as the cost of equipment is now out of reach for most families. Tribe7 has endeavored to lower these barriers, offering best in class gear at less than 50% of competitor’s prices. Which brings us to Phase 2 of our effort: A partnership with the NYC Public School Athletic League. Lance Hermus, the NYC PSAL Sports Coordinator, wants to see the game grow throughout NYC''s School System. He believes that we can make it happen with a public-private partnership. The PSAL has the coaches, the fields, the refs, the MTA passes, and a huge backlog of demand from students, parents, and school principals. It’s up to us to get the kids the gear. The schools can't pay for it. And most kids, approximately 99% of them, simply can’t afford it. Which, as per life, ain't fair. But we all like fair. And, in this case, 'fair' is fully tax-deductible. |
| The Project’s objective is to donate 500 complete lacrosse kits to the NYC PSAL. We can now deliver 500 kits to deserving kids for the same price that it cost, just last year, to deliver 187 kits. As such, we have achieved one of our initial goals, lowering the cost to donate high performance gear by 62.5%. A start, surely, but now for the heroic part: You. Public school principals have besieged the PSAL with requests to start teams. They see it as a sport that offers an esprit de corps like few others. It gets kids into schools. It helps them realize their dreams. And it is fun. Plain old fun. |
| The Economics of the Project: The Cost of 500 Quality Kits at Market Prices is $278,000.00. Averaging the cost of boys and girls kits per the 60%-40% player ratios, the total that a family has to spend to get competitive equipment is $556.00 As in….not gonna happen! The Cost of 500 Quality Kits via The Optimus Project: $104,250.00 (tax advantaged dollars, using 25% tax rate-actual donations $139,000). Bottom Line: We can deliver high quality full lacrosse kits to kids for $208.50 per player. Less than the cost of a helmet, as opposed to a parent in need having to spend $556.00 Fund Raising Target: $139,000 |
NYC PUBLIC SCHOOL LAX ACTION
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"Lacrosse reminds me of that proverb, 'Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a
lifetime.' Except that when you give a kid a lacrosse stick, you just might have nourished him for a lifetime." Dr. Peter McFarlane-PS 180
"Lacrosse reminds me of that proverb, 'Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a
lifetime.' Except that when you give a kid a lacrosse stick, you just might have nourished him for a lifetime." Dr. Peter McFarlane-PS 180
The Objective
The Mission
| Each Unit, $208.50, donates a complete lacrosse kit to the PSAL for a NYC Public School student. A Donation of 20 Units outfits a whole team. |
| 1 Unit=1 Complete Gear Kit Stick, Gloves, Arm Pads, Shoulder Pads, Helmet. (boys) Stick, Goggles, (girls) |
| In NYC, Manhattan alone has 153 high schools. Lance Hermus, the PSAL's lacrosse coordinator, will be apportioning our donations throughout the system based on where they will have the most impact, seeding new programs, and bolstering nascent ones. We share a dream of NYC becoming a hot bed for our game. 1.1 million kids, the largest system in the Nation, playing and growing by the game of lacrosse. |
| A Lax Story We assisted in the start-up of a program at the East Harlem School three years ago, a boys and girls team, in Middle School. The effect was dramatic, and immediate. The students' energy level went up across the board, including self-esteem, class participation, and grades. One of the students, who had never seen a deer, nor heard of field lacrosse, is now at Deerfield, playing lacrosse. That is the nature of our game. It's a gift of sorts, one that keeps on giving. Together, we can deliver it to the those who could use it most. |
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All Donations are 100% Tax-Deductible: A letter from the NYC PSAL will be delivered to you for accounting and record keeping.