Confidence
Discovering new abilities, facing challenges, and learning to believe in what is possible.
OUR STORY · OUR PURPOSE · OUR FUTURE
Every child deserves the chance to discover their potential.
We believe a family's financial circumstances should not be the deciding factor in whether a young athlete gets to participate, grow, and pursue their dreams.
OPPORTUNITY CHANGES EVERYTHING
WHY WE STARTED
A personal experience became a bigger mission.
Rising Tide Athletics Fund was born from firsthand experience with the difference financial support can make for a family.
I grew up playing organized sports, and I know the impact being part of a team can have on a child's life. Sports teach us how to support others, work toward a shared goal, overcome challenges, and understand that every person's contribution matters. Those lessons can stay with us long after the final whistle.
Before moving to South Carolina, I served on a booster board at a cheer gym in Ohio. Its purpose was to help families afford cheerleading. I saw firsthand how that support made a difference. Some athletes could participate because assistance was available. Without it, their families simply could not afford the cost.
That experience stayed with me. When my family moved to South Carolina, we discovered how challenging those costs could be. Cheer expenses were nearly double what we had experienced in Ohio, and we no longer had access to the same kind of fundraising support system.
Like many families, we found ourselves worrying about fees, uniforms, competition expenses, and travel. As parents, we want our children to enjoy their childhood—to focus on learning, growing, making friends, and being part of a team, rather than carrying the weight of financial worries.
At the end of a cheer season, our family needed to raise money for competition and travel. We organized a fundraiser and raised more than $3,000 in a single event. That support largely covered lodging for five families traveling to Florida.
We saw what could happen when people came together around a shared purpose. Families received meaningful financial relief, and we realized that this idea could become something bigger than one fundraiser or one season.
What if we could help families throughout our community? What if we could create more opportunities for athletes whose families were struggling with the cost of participation? What if we could help teams obtain the uniforms and equipment they needed, too?
That is why we created Rising Tide Athletics Fund.
MORE THAN A GAME
It's about who a child becomes along the way.
Competitive athletics are about more than wins, losses, trophies, or medals. They can provide experiences that help young people grow on and off the field.
Teamwork
Learning to support others, contribute to a shared goal, and celebrate the success of the entire team.
Resilience
Learning to work through setbacks, practice discipline, and keep going when things get difficult.
Opportunity
Discovering passions and possibilities that may lead to future educational, athletic, and personal achievements.
We cannot predict how far any child will go. We believe every child deserves a fair opportunity to find out.
OUR VISION
Build a future where more athletes get the chance to rise.
Our vision is to grow Rising Tide Athletics Fund into an organization that supports more than 100 families each year while helping teams access essential equipment and uniforms.
We want to build lasting partnerships with families, coaches, businesses, sponsors, and communities that believe financial barriers should not determine a young athlete's opportunity to participate.
Explore Family AssistanceTHE FUTURE WE'RE BUILDING
100+Families Supported Annually
A long-term goal to help more families access the opportunities and life lessons that competitive athletics can provide.
EVERY CONTRIBUTION MATTERS
It takes a team to create opportunity.
Every donation, volunteer hour, fundraising event, and community partnership can help us reach another family. You do not have to change the world for every athlete. You can help change the possibilities for one.
Together We Rise.