City of Toledo and the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation Unveils Multi-Sport Youth Athletic Field in Old South End Neighborhood

Rick and Nancy Corbett Athletic Complex presented by Group1001 will provide local youth with a clean, safe place to learn, play and grow

Toledo, Ohio (November 13, 2019) – The Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation and the City of Toledo today unveiled a new youth development park located at Danny Thomas Park in the Old South End neighborhood. Rick and Nancy Corbett Athletic Complex presented by Group1001 features a 75,000-square-foot multi-sport synthetic turf field that will be used for football, soccer, and baseball/softball and provide local youth with a safe outdoor place to play.

Speakers at the ribbon cutting ceremony included Cal Ripken, Jr., Baseball Hall of Famer and Ripken Foundation vice-chairman; Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, City of Toledo; Rick Corbett, Toledo-native & project donor; Melissa Jacobs, Vice President, Sponsorships, Group1001; and Steve Salem, President and CEO, Ripken Foundation.

“The name Cal Ripken is synonymous with excellence, and so it is no surprise that his foundation has produced a world class sports facility,” Mayor Kapszukiewicz said. “Toledo is the only city in Ohio that has been awarded a Ripken field, and children of all ages will benefit from this investment for many years to come.”

Rick and Nancy Corbett Athletic Complex presented by Group1001 was designed for multisport play, including dugouts, backstop, digital scoreboard, bleachers, foul poles, soccer goals and field lighting. The facility will serve as the central location for the YMCA of Greater Toledo and The Believe Center programs, directly supporting thousands of at-risk youth who are exposed to high-risk factors, such as above-average crime rates, families living below the poverty line, and a high number of children being raised in single-parent homes. Afterschool programming, such as organized team sports, is a powerful alternative during widely unsupervised time between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Research suggests 29 percent of all violent crime committed by juvenile offenders occurs during those hours.

“Being active and playing sports taught me so many valuable life lessons,” said Ripken. “Thanks to the City of Toledo, the generous donors and supporters, kids in the Old South End community will have a safe space to play and grow, and learn a lot of those same lessons.”

“Nancy and I are so excited for the community that this great facility will be available for youth sports in the Historic South. It is our sincere hope that it serves as a positive place for neighborhood kids to develop friendships, teamwork, discipline, and healthy fun,” added Corbett.

Rick and Nancy Corbett Athletic Complex was made possible as part of a generous $5 million donation to the Ripken Foundation from Dan Towriss and Group1001, used to build a total of 10 Youth Development Parks with supporting programming over five years in 10 cities across the country.

“We believe that education and sports have the power to transform communities which is why it was so important for us to support the efforts to bring this transformational park to the deserving Toledo community,” added Towriss.

Major charitable project donors also includes Rick and Nancy Corbett, Group1001, the City of Toledo, Andersons Fund Supporting Organization, Historic South, Owens Corning, Owens-Illinois (O-I), ProMedica and KeyBank. The Ripken Foundation has completed 90 multipurpose synthetic turf facilities in 23 states and Washington D.C.

About the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation

For the last 18 years, the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation has worked tirelessly to implement youth development programs and create parks that directly address the problems facing at-risk youth in distressed communities across the country. Inspired by one of the most iconic baseball families, the Ripkens created the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation to honor the legacy of its family patriarch, longtime coach, and mentor, Cal Ripken, Sr. The Ripken Foundation uses sports-themed activities to bring police officers, youth partners and underserved kids ages 9 – 14 together on a level playing field to learn invaluable life skills.

The Ripken Foundation’s Youth Development Park Initiative creates clean, safe places for kids to play on multipurpose, synthetic surface fields that promote healthy living in an outdoor recreational facility. Since 2009, the Ripken Foundation has 90 completed parks across the country in 23 states and Washington, D.C. In 2018, the Ripken Foundation impacted over 1.5 million kids nationwide through its Youth Development Park and mentor programs. For more information, visit www.RipkenFoundation.org. Follow @CalRipkenSrFdn on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Group1001

Group1001 is a customer-centric insurance holding company with combined assets under management of approximately $36 billion as of September 30, 2018. We are reimagining the insurance industry experience in ways that empower people financially and help them live better lives. Our mission as a group is to make insurance more useful, intuitive and accessible so everyone can get the most value from their money.

Group1001 believes education and sports have the power to transform communities. We partner with Fields & Futures and the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation to revitalize sports fields in communities across the country, to provide safe and nurturing spaces for young people in the communities we serve. Group1001 also sponsors the Power of Sports, which celebrates powerful stories of people and organizations connecting through sports while driving positive social change for children and communities across the U.S.

For more information about Group1001, please visit us at Group1001.com.