High-quality athletic opportunity — for every kid who wants it.

LA Lions Sports Foundation puts young athletes on the water. We believe organized sport builds what lasts — leadership, teamwork, discipline — and that no kid should miss out because their family can't cover the cost of a boat.

Rebuilt from the boathouse up

In 2024, LMU cut varsity rowing. Rather than let the program disappear, we rebuilt it — a club crew, a junior team, and a masters program operating out of the LMU boathouse in Marina del Rey. No endowment, no safety net. A month-to-month permit, a fleet of boats, and people willing to show up before sunrise.

Today we serve hundreds of rowers a year, from high schoolers touching an oar for the first time to athletes training within sight of the 2028 Olympic waters.

Who your gift reaches

High school athletes at South Bay schools with no rowing program of their own — we bring the boats, the coaching, and the water to them.
Junior competitors racing under their school names, chasing regional and national qualification.
First-timers — the kid who's never rowed, on the same water as Olympic hopefuls.

What your donation buys

Rowing is equipment-heavy, and equipment is exactly what keeps kids off the water when money's tight. Your gift goes straight to the fleet and the coaching that runs it:

$50 — safety and maintenance gear
$250 — a month of on-water coaching for one athlete
$1,100 — a new indoor rowing erg
$8,000 — a racing single for a developing rower
$30,000 — a new racing four on the water, carrying a full crew (our current goal)

100% to the athletes

Every dollar goes to boats, coaching, and access — not overhead. LA Lions Sports Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3); your contribution is tax-deductible and your receipt arrives automatically. EIN 41-4484159.

Join us. Make sure no young athlete is left on the dock.

Support Our Mission

Put a Kid on the Water