The benefits of sports, play and physical activity don’t disappear with the final buzzer or the end-of-recess bell. They help kids grow stronger, from childhood through adulthood. 

That’s the premise of Project Play: Southeast Michigan, an initiative of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, in partnership with the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program.   

Research from the Aspen Institute indicates that physically active children go on to reap a lifetime of benefits including having higher self-esteem, being 15% more likely to attend college, earning 7-8% more annually, and reducing their risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, depression and obesity. 

Project Play: Southeast Michigan’s mission is to help all kids in the region access these benefits by providing them with opportunities to enjoy sports, play and physical activities. The initiative works to ensure that: 

• All children have access to quality sports, play and physical activity experiences that are safe, inclusive and developmentally appropriate. 
• Coaches have the training they need to support the development of the whole child.  
• Systems and programs supporting youth sports align around shared standards. 

To achieve these goals, Project Play uses a sports-based youth development approach, centered on play and designed to support the whole child. Project Play: Southeast Michigan is inspired by and based on the Aspen Institute’s national Project Play program, which develops, applies and shares knowledge that helps build healthy communities through sports in 17 regions across the U.S.  

Project Play helps partners align their programs with shared standards like the Aspen Institute’s 8 Plays Framework and the Children’s Bill of Rights in Sports. To promote more consistent, developmentally focused, quality youth sports experiences across the region, Project Play supports: 

• Sports sampling initiatives 
• Coach training for better development 
• Summits, workshops and other events that convene and align stakeholders  
• Funding and resources for organizations that support youth sports 

As Project Play continues this work, it aims to foster greater alignment around quality youth sports experiences, further increasing the adoption of shared approaches and promoting greater coordination among youth sports-supporting organizations in southeast Michigan. 

Together, we can help kids get and stay active, resulting in physical, mental, emotional and social benefits that can last a lifetime. 

Children’s Bill of Rights in Sports

Developed by the Aspen Institute through its Project Play initiative, with a working group of human rights and sports policy experts, the Children’s Bill of Rights in Sports identifies eight rights: 

• To play sports: Organizations should make every effort to accommodate children’s interests to participate, and to help them play with peers from diverse backgrounds. 
• To safe and healthy environments: Children have the right to play in settings free from all forms of abuse (physical, emotional, sexual), hazing, violence and neglect.
• To qualified program leaders: Children have the right to play under the care of coaches and other adults who pass background checks and are trained in key competencies. 
• To developmentally appropriate play: Children have a right to play at a level commensurate with their physical, mental and emotional maturity, and their emerging athletic ability. They should be treated as young people first, athletes second. 
• To share in the planning and delivery of their activities: Children have the right to share their viewpoints with coaches, and for their insights to be incorporated into activities. 
• To an equal opportunity for personal growth: Programs should invest equally in all child athletes, free of discrimination based on any personal or family characteristic. 
• To be treated with dignity: Children have the right to participate in environments that promote the values of sportsmanship, and of respect for opponents, officials and the game. 
• To enjoy themselves: Children have the right to participate in activities they consider fun, and which foster the development of friendships and social bonds. 

We encourage leaders, from program operators to policymakers, to treat these rights as guardrails in the design of all sport activities involving youth. Visit projectplaysemi.com/cboris to endorse the Children’s Bill of Rights in Sports. 

This story originally appeared in our Fall/Winter 2026 REPORT Newsletter