THE WISH BOOK SERIES
Jasmine, center left, and Sophia, center right, play soccer with other girls as they take part in BAWSI, or Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative, during an after-school session at A.J. Dorsa Elementary School in San Jose on Oct. 24. The Wish Book is an annual project of the Mercury News that invites readers to help their neighbors.
WISH
Donations will help fund a BAWSI Girls site for one school year, enrolling up to 130 girls at low-income schools in free after-school fitness and confidencebuilding activities. Goal: $20,500.
HOW TO GIVE
Donate at wishbook.mercurynews.com or clip the coupon on Page B14.
More online:
Read other Wish Book stories, view photos and video at “BAWSI BAWSI BAWSI!”
The effusive energy on the blacktop at A.J. Dorsa Elementary School flowed through the girls to their coaches and back. In that moment on a recent weekday afternoon, these 40 grade-schoolers seemed ready to conquer the world.
That’s pretty much the ultimate goal. Their cheer is the acronym for the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative, whose centerpiece is a free after-school fitness mentoring program aimed at empowering girls of color attending schools in low-income neighborhoods in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
Valeria Topete, a 9-year-old fourthgrader at Dorsa, considers herself “super active” after two years in the BAWSI Girls program at her school.
“We get to hang out with the coaches and get to do a bit of exercise,” Valeria said during a break between playing soccer and tag and writing in her journal. “We’re exercising and having fun no matter what.”
Gema Ortiz, one of the original BAWSI girls from 2005, helps run the exercise
stations. She said she owes the program a debt of gratitude for immersing her in a world where she continues to thrive as a graduate student in sports psychology.
“You’re like a candle, and you start losing hope, and this sparks you up. You become a leader as a young girl,” Ortiz said. “Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today, as a student or as a teacher.”
Ortiz grew up the sixth of eight children in Gilroy. Her parents discouraged her from playing sports, she said, because they didn’t see its value. She persisted because of her budding love for soccer. Then she learned about BAWSI. Her school, Rod Kelley Elementary, was one of the original sites for the BAWSI program, which along with an awe-inspiring visit from Bay Area soccer legend Brandi Chastain nurtured her passion.
She continued to get encouragement from outside home, with the community generously donating her soccer equipment. She also arranged her own rides to soccer practice, and even ran to practice when she couldn’t get a ride.
Overcoming steady obstacles, Ortiz became a star soccer player in high school. Former first lady Michelle Obama waves to the crowd during her “Becoming” book tour stop at the SAP Center in San Jose on Friday.