Why give to the Ron Mcbride Foundation

Some 99,000 Utah children are left alone and unsupervised after school each day, making them vulnerable targets for gangs, depression, boredom, social isolation, drug abuse, food
insecurity and suicide.

While youth suicides have slowly risen across the nation, Utah’s rate has soared. Utah’s overall suicide rate (per 100,000 citizens) is nearly double the national rate.

That’s why the Ron McBride Foundation (RMF) funds afterschool programs in Title 1 schools. These “Bridge Programs” provide underprivileged children and youth a safe environment after school, with enrichment opportunities, academic support and positive mentoring.

Coach Ron McBride, former head football coach at the University of Utah and Weber State University, has spent his whole career mentoring youth from underserved neighborhoods, helping them find a better path forward.

Last year, the RMF funded 19 afterschool programs—a 58 percent increase over 2022—in Title 1 Schools in Ogden, Jordan, Granite, Salt Lake City and Canyons School Districts.

In their progress reports, principals in the schools Mac supports reported that through RMF-supported afterschool programs:

The faculty has been able to build stronger relationships with students.
Students have taken more of a leading role in the clubs.
Students behavior has improved as “they have found a place to fit in.”
Students sense of belonging has improved, as have their academics.
Connections between home and school have increased.

For every child in an afterschool program in Utah, eight more are waiting for an available program.

The RMF funds spaces where “communities grow, passions are found and love changes lives.” In short, when the Ron McBride Foundation funds a school, it becomes “Mac’s School.” Its students become his kids.

Conversely, most other donors who could possibly fund schools explicitly state in their grant requirements that they will not fund after school programs.

The Ron McBride Foundation is the only place many schools have to turn to in order to create real, lasting change in their community.

Seventy cents of every dollar raised by the RMF goes directly into programs that in 2023 gave more than 7,000 underprivileged students enrichment opportunities in safe and accepting environments.

In Kind Donation

We are always looking for the community’s support for in-kind donations and gift certificates to be auctioned off at RMF special events. If you are interested in having your business showcased. Please click the button below. We will send you a tax receipt at the end of the year.

Become a Monthly Game Changer

Please consider joining Mac’s team by becoming a monthly Game Changer. Sponsor one child for a year in our program.

The RMF Also:

Contributed $15,000 to the Salt Lake City School Foundation for physical examinations and mental health services not covered by insurance at the West High School Clinic.
Helped fund a six-lane track around the soccer field at Glendale Middle School that benefits both students and community members seeking physical activity that is safe and away from traffic.
Recruited motivational speakers, who once down on their luck, are able to help students in Mac’s schools escape generational poverty, drug abuse and gangs.
Sponsored the 2023 Mascot Bowl, which raised funds for the Christmas Shop, which provides Christmas gifts for underprivileged children, youth and veterans.
Sponsored the Ogden Peaks Classic Soccer Tournament, which attracted more than 2,000 youth from Utah and surrounding states to Ogden.
Sponsored Race Swami’s 9th Annual Día de los Muertos Classic Swim Meet in Rose Park, which benefitted low-income teenage swimmers, speaking five different languages.
Held free workout camps for at-risk athletes trying to improve their football skills at the LifeCentre Athletic Club and Highland High.