One Platform. Two kinds of work.
THE MODEL
Sports are developmental community infrastructure. The question is who gets to use it. ShareWaves works across a six-stage continuum to expand access to that infrastructure and to fix the systems that keep it out of reach — from raising awareness about why movement matters to delivering measurable community impact. Each stage builds on the one before it. Programs, partnerships, and coalition work all support the continuum. They don’t replace it.
We do two things. We help kids play- right now, one child at a time. And we work on the system that decides which kids get to play at all.
Direct Impact
The Continuum of Opportunity — three programs that reach children directly.
System Impact
The Play Equity Collective — the work that strengthens the system around every child.
Research · Coalition · Policy · Shared Measurement · Communications · Funding
SYSTEMS IMPACT — THE PLAY EQUITY COLLECTIVE
Changing the conditions — so every child has a shorter distance to travel.
A child
on the outside of the game
DIRECT IMPACT — THE CONTINUUM OF OPPORTUNITY
GameChanging Grants
get in the door
The Continuum moves a child from the outside of the game into a lifelong relationship with movement. The Collective changes the conditions so the next child starts closer to the door.
#Ready2Play
quality play nearby
#Ready2Grow
stay on the pathway
A better adult
healthy · confident · connected
Three Programs. One Journey.
DIRECT IMPACT
These are not stages every child completes. ShareWaves meets a child wherever they are on the path — some need only one program; some move across all three.
“I can’t afford to start”
GameChanging Grants
“There is no quality programming where I live”
#Ready2Play Camps & Clinics
Quality sports and movement are brought into the neighborhoods where kids live. You don't have to be an athlete to take part.
“The pathway I’m on is pricing me out”
#Ready2Grow
Building Brighter Futures. Flexible stipends that follow a committed young person into the club or program they choose.
Micro-grants, paid vendor-direct through trusted partners, that get a child in the door.
The coalition that strengthens the whole ecosystem
SYSTEMS IMPACT
The Play Equity Collective is how ShareWaves strengthens the whole system — the Kansas City Play Equity Coalition it convenes and leads.
RESEARCH
COALITION
POLICY
2023 Aspen Institute Project Play Champion
SHARED MEASUREMENT
Coalitions for Sport Equity- 700+ organizations, 23 cities
World Cup 2026 Legacy - Kansas City Legacy 26
COMMUNICATIONS
Sport Sector Lead, Kansa City Physical Activity Plan
FUNDING
Membership is earned through commitment, not affiliation — a working body of builders, not a wall of logos.
Children’s Mercy / KC Health Lifestyle Collaborative
The continuum is the child's journey. Systems impact is the terrain.
HOW IT FITS
The Play Equity Collective is the terrain the child's journey crosses — being reshaped underfoot. Programs remove the barriers a child faces today. Systems work makes sure those barriers are lower for the next child.
Movement
A body that knows how to move — the physical foundation of health and confidence, built early.
Belonging
Being on a team, being expected, being part of something — the antidote to being on the outside.
Safety
Places to play that are physically and emotionally safe, where a kid can take a risk, fail, and try again.
Aspiration
The reach toward what comes next — the pathways, mentors, and dreams that sport uniquely opens.
Movement, belonging, safety, aspiration — the developmental foundations of healthier adults, stronger families, and more resilient communities.
Our theory of change: When more children have equitable access to quality play — and communities align around keeping those opportunities open — children grow into healthier, more confident adults, and their communities grow stronger as a result.
See it in action.
Our partners, programs, and coalition work reach kids across Kansas City.