Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) will be joined by Randy Butler, Director of Program Operations & Impact at Philadelphia Youth Basketball (PYB) and Program Director of PYB’s HoopHers, Girls Empowerment program, as her guest to President Biden’s State of the Union Address to Congress on Tuesday, February 7.

Butler oversees a number of the programs, from planning to execution, at PYB. The community-built and evidence-based youth empowerment organization leverages the game of basketball to help youth in underserved communities in PA-05 and beyond overcome the most urgent and systemic issues. She also serves as the program director for HoopHers, a female-based PYB program which was created after it became apparent that PYB’s girl members were deciding not to participate in the on-court basketball element of the program and missing out on the off-court benefits like building habits and traits of teamwork, self-control, confidence, and resiliency. HoopHers creates a safe space for girls to learn the game of basketball while connecting them with the strong constituency of female professionals eager to mentor young girls. 

HoopHers is a program partner and provider for Philadelphia Youth Sports Collaborative’s Getting Girls in the Game initiative, specifically running HoopHers at PA-05’s Francis J. Myers Recreation Center in the Kingsessing neighborhood of Southwest Philadelphia. Butler works with the collaborative as an ambassador, partner, and committee member in helping to drive their girls initiatives.

“One of my top priorities in Congress is to set our children and youth up for success,” said Rep. Scanlon. “As a longtime supporter of sports-based youth development programs, particularly for girls, and Chair of the Congressional Youth Mentoring Caucus, I work to advance solutions at the federal level to ensure that all young people have the support they need to succeed. President Biden and Congressional Democrats are more united than ever in our work together to support our shared American value that investing in our children makes them – and our nation – healthy, strong, and productive. Randy leads the way in demonstrating what success looks like with sports-based youth development programs in our communities, and I’m thrilled she will join me for President Biden’s speech about the tremendous progress we’ve made together and the work still ahead to build a brighter future for our children.”

“The city of Philadelphia is becoming a national model for using the power of sport-based youth development to enrich young people's lives,” said Butler. “Organizations like Philadelphia Youth Basketball and Philadelphia Youth Sports Collaborative are leading the city in providing equitable access, opportunity, and high-quality programming that supports measurable, long-term outcomes for thriving young people and especially focusing on empowering our young ladies.” 

Butler continued, “ We are grateful to have leaders like Congresswoman Scanlon who not only understand the importance of this work but who is also willing to help drive the conversations and more importantly, the work forward at the federal level. I am honored and thrilled to be able to attend the state of the union address with the Congresswoman in highlighting the important work that Philadelphia is leading in the sport-based youth development space and particularly for our young ladies in sport.”

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