The Mikail R. Russo, MONEY Athletic Foundation’s purpose is to give financial assistance to local youth.  Members of our board believe athletic participation fosters a healthy lifestyle and that setting goals and achieving them opens doors to self-growth and confidence.  We also believe the lives of the scholarship recipients can be enriched by meeting people of diverse backgrounds and interacting with them in challenging settings.  We ask each child, as part of our application process, to tell us the reason he or she should be considered for an award and how the activity will benefit him or her.  Since each year the cost of attending sport camps, taking lessons, and participating on local teams grows exponentially, the community need is self-evident.