Countries around the world are anticipating the start of the Paris Olympics, a celebration of the unifying power of sports.

For many, an introduction to sports begins at a young age. From participating in a sport to watching games with family, sports plays a pivotal role in shaping youth, teaching invaluable life skills such as teamwork, leadership, and resilience and encouraging healthy lifestyles through active play. But unfortunately, children are dropping out of sports at alarming rates. Not only does this impact their lifelong health, but it influences whether children will grow up to become sports fans.

We invited Kevin Martinez, Vice President of Corporate Citizenship at ESPN, to highlight programs central to ESPN’s mission to serve sport fans anytime, anywhere. Kevin discusses several of ESPN’s programs, including Don't Retire, Kid; Foundation V; and ESPN’s partnership with Special Olympics, and highlights ESPN’s aim to support and nurture both athletes and fans, reinforcing the idea that sports are for everyone.

Listen for insights on:

• The business and community value of investing in sports
• Business areas that corporate citizenship professionals need to be aware of to expand their impact and make the business case for social impact
• Maintaining connections and communication with other corporate citizenship professionals to drive greater overall impact

Resources + Links:

• Kevin Martinez’s LinkedIn
• ESPN x Special Olympics
• V Foundation
• The Emperor of All Maladies
• Don’t Retire, Kid

• (00:00 ) - Welcome to Purpose 360


• (00:13 ) - ESPN's Kevin Martinez


• (01:09 ) - Kevin’s Background


• (04:14 ) - Intuition


• (06:53 ) - Sports


• (08:06 ) - ESPN’s Purpose


• (09:30 ) - Programmatic Work


• (12:48 ) - Kids in Sports


• (16:40 ) - Equity in Sports


• (20:27 ) - Olympics


• (22:23 ) - Last Thoughts


• (25:03 ) - Purpose and AI


• (27:56 ) - Wrap Up