Easton-Bell Sports and Good Sports Help L.A. Youth Swing for the Fences at Bat Donation Day

LOS ANGELES - May 21, 2012 - Good Sports, a national non-profit organization that provides sports equipment to disadvantaged youth, and Easton-Bell Sports, a leading designer, developer and marketer of branded sports equipment, protective products and related accessories, brought smiles to hundreds of L.A. kids on Friday with the presentation of 130 new Easton baseball and softball bats to youth athletes from the L.A. Metropolitan PONY League. The event was part of the organizations’ strategic partnership aimed at providing a greater number of girls and boys with opportunities to participate in athletic activities nationwide.

The L.A. Metropolitan PONY League strives to teach inner-city children in the Greater Los Angeles community the importance of teamwork, dedication, and good citizenship to achieve their career and life goals. In the past five years, more than 5,000 kids have successfully gone through the program.

“Easton bats are swung by many of the top high school and college athletes in the country. It’s our hope that this donation – in some small way – will help the L.A. Metro ball players aspire and ascend to that level,” said Chris Zimmerman, President, Easton Sports. “The pure enthusiasm and joy for the game exhibited by these kids, and the coaches who so generously volunteer their time to support them, proves that baseball and softball are alive and well in Los Angeles. We couldn’t be happier to support the effort.”

Easton-Bell Sports will provide sports equipment from each of its brands—Easton, Bell, Riddell, Giro and Blackburn—for Good Sports to distribute to programs in need nationwide. Friday’s bat donation event marked the first equipment donation conducted by the two organizations.

“Thanks to generous partners like Easton-Bell Sports, we are able to provide a greater number of girls and boys with opportunities to participate in athletic activities—a critical component of supporting healthy, active lifestyles for young people,” said Melissa Harper, CEO, Good Sports. “This is especially important in cities like Los Angeles, where 20 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and many kids are unable to participate due to lack of equipment.”

About Easton-Bell Sports
Easton-Bell Sports, Inc. is a leading designer, developer and marketer of branded sports equipment, protective products and related accessories. The company markets and licenses products under such well-known brands as Easton, Bell, Giro, Riddell and Blackburn. Its products incorporate leading technology and designs and are used by professional athletes and enthusiasts alike. Headquartered in Van Nuys, California, the company has 31 facilities worldwide. More information is available at www.eastonbellsports.com.

About Good Sports
Good Sports helps to lay the foundation for healthy, active lifestyles by providing athletic equipment, footwear, and apparel to disadvantaged young people nationwide.  By partnering with sporting goods manufacturers, Good Sports is able to get the necessary equipment into the hands of the kids that need it most, giving them a chance to get in the game.  Since 2003, Good Sports has provided over $6 million worth of equipment to nearly 750 youth programs, impacting more than 350,000 kids.   For more information on how you can help support Good Sports, please visit www.goodsports.org.