Arizona Lottery donates $50,000 to Banner Health Foundation for underserved student athletes

The Arizona Lottery donated to encourage athletic participation.

The lottery presented a $50,000 Gives Back Sponsorship check to Banner Health Foundation, the charitable arm of Banner Health. The money will help cover the cost of sports physicals and concussion testing for more than 1,000 high school athletes in Arizona. The testing is a part of Banner’s “Game On: Youth Athlete Support Fund.”

Evan Lederman, M.D., Chief of Sports Medicine for Banner Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Clinic, commended the lottery on its contribution to the program.

“Concussion baseline testing plays a critical role in a young athlete’s well-being and is invaluable when sports concussions occur,” Dr. Erickson said in a press release on March 18. “While sports related concussions are more common in contact sports, they can occur with any activity. We are very grateful to the Arizona Lottery for recognizing the need to help student athletes overcome economic barriers to these important assessments.”

Meanwhile, Arizona Lottery Executive Director Gregg Edgar commended Banner Health on its work to ensure the health and safety of student-athletes.

“The Arizona Lottery was surprised to learn that so many student athletes suffer from the long-term effects of head injuries, as well as the number of young people who may not be able to participate because of the cost of a sports physical,” Edgar said in the press release. “We are proud to assist Banner Health in their efforts to ensure young athletes in underserved communities get the same level of care as any others.

“The ‘Game On’ Youth Athlete Support Fund is the very type of program that our Gives Back sponsorships are designed to support. These sponsorships are funded with Arizona Lottery marketing dollars that, instead of being used in traditional advertising campaigns, are used to help non-profits across Arizona accomplish their missions while helping us to tell our story.”