New Balance has donated one thousand pairs of athletic shoes to Boston Public School track athletes.

The footwear arrived on January 13 and will be distributed to 14 Boston track programs throughout the next week.  The remaining shoes will be distributed to athletes that participate in the Spring Outdoor Track Program.

“It's great to have business leaders in our city that understand the
needs of our community and respond with the resources needed to help
achieve a better Boston for all of our residents,” Boston Mayor Thomas
M. Menino said. “The Boston Scholar Athlete program and New Balance make
a fantastic team for our student athletes on and off the field.”

“It is donations such as this that reminds us what a powerful impact our
community partners can have on our scholar athletes,” said Boston
Public Schools Superintendent Carol R. Johnson. “These New Balance
sneakers will help our students excel on the track and therefore also in
the classroom. With the help of the Boston Scholar Athlete Program we
will continue to remove the barriers that prevent our students from
participating in programs like track.”

“We are proud to support Mayor Menino and the Boston Scholar Athletes
Program in a vision that we share – producing academic achievement
through the pursuit of athletics.  Mayor Menino and the City continue to
be at the forefront of finding ways to help students achieve the tools
necessary to excel in life and learning.  We applaud all of the City's
student athletes for their on-going commitment to succeed, ” said Matt
LeBretton, Director of Public Affairs for New Balance.

“We'd like to thank New Balance for their overwhelming generosity; it is
a shining example of the commitment of local businesses to our
athletes. Our partners like New Balance help us to create a solid
foundation upon which students can achieve academic and athletic success
and prepare them for the future,” said John Fish, Chairman of the Red
& Blue Foundation and CEO of Suffolk Construction Company.

The Boston Public Schools Indoor Track Program services more than 500
student-athletes every year, making it one of the largest athletic
programs for both boys and girls combined, in the city. These 500
athletes make up 16 teams that practice and compete on a weekly basis at
the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Roxbury, MA.

The Boston Scholar Athlete Program is a program designed to support
academic achievement through athletics in the Boston Public Schools. Now
in its second year, the BSA is a collaboration with Mayor Menino,
Superintendent Johnson, and Suffolk Construction's Red & Blue
Foundation.  The BSA currently supports more than 1,500 student athletes
in the Boston Public High Schools.