Why we do it? To link residents across the socioeconomic spectrum for connections that create pathways out of poverty.

Benefit: Cross-class friendships, fostered by relationship-building activities such as the arts and sports are strongly linked to upward mobility. A recent study found that low-income children in environments where 50% of their friends were in higher income groups (vs. 0%) increased future income by about 16% on average- a larger impact than school quality, family structure, job availability or community racial composition -Nature. Numerous studies have also shown that sports, followed closely by the arts, is the strongest factor associated with larger numbers of intergroup childhood friendships because they provide spaces for shared identities that cross traditional demographic boundaries.

Barrier: As income disparity in the United States hits all-time highs, economic segregation is rising. Youth sports have shifted from free, school-based athletics to expensive club-based teams, diminishing opportunities to forge ties that bring kids of different backgrounds together.

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