FOX Sports Sponsors Women's Sports Foundation's Annual Gala Celebrating Female Athletes
21st Century Fox Social Impact
On Tuesday, October 20, FOX Sports was a co-presenting sponsor of the 36th Annual Salute to Women in Sports, an awards gala for the Women's Sports Foundation, which is dedicated to ensuring that girls across the US have access to sports. The event celebrated the achievements of female athletes over the past year and raised money for the foundation's grant programs supporting young athletes.
"Playing sports and celebrating the importance of its roles in our society is a key part of the culture at FOX Sports," Eric Shanks, President, COO, and Executive Producer of FOX Sports, said last year. "From lessons on teamwork, determination, and self-belief, FOX Sports is proud to support the Women's Sports Foundation and their dedication to developing America's girls into the next leaders of our corporations, and our society at large."
The Women's Sports Foundation works to provide safe and equitable sports opportunities so that all girls receive the health, education, and leadership benefits that sports provides both on and off the field. The foundation has also become a leader in conducting public service research projects on the impact of sports and physical activity participation on the lives of women and girls.
Over the course of the evening, the foundation recognized some of the top athletes in the world, including tennis champion Serena Williams, who took home the 2015 Sportswoman of the Year prize, Paralympian athlete Tatyana McFadden, who received the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award, and soccer player Carli Lloyd, who won the Sports Woman of the Year Award in the Team Sport category.
"Forty-one years ago we founded an organization to recognize the accomplishments of the world's greatest women athletes just like we are doing here at tonight's Salute," said legendary tennis champion and WSF Founder Billie Jean King. "We have seen great momentum and breakthroughs this past year for female athletes, coaches, and commentators, and we came together tonight to celebrate those moments and to commemorate the impact the Foundation has on women and girls each and every day."
In particular, this year's event also served as a fundraiser for the foundation's Sports 4 Life program, a national effort to increase the participation and retention of African-American and Hispanic girls in developmental youth sports programs. Through education, public awareness, and grants to organizations nationwide, Sports 4 Life seeks to effect sustainable improvement to the overall health and development of girls in these communities. This year alone, the program has supported 6,600 girls in 16 states plus the US Virgin Islands.
