RowDallas
Rowing is a sport that teaches work ethic, teamwork, and resilience while fostering its participants'
leadership, tenacity, and ambition. When paired with strong academic support, rowing offers
considerable college opportunities for students. Yet, until now, there were significant accessibility
barriers for Dallas area students, especially in under-resourced communities.
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RowDallas, an outreach program of Dallas United Crew, a non-profit operating at White Rock Lake, launched in 2019 to drive more inclusion and diversity in rowing.
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OUR PURPOSE
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RowDallas aims to empower students in under-resourced communities by increasing access to rowing and helping them develop valuable life skills for a brighter future.
WHAT WE OFFER
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We offer rowing-based fitness programs in South Dallas schools at no cost, provide scholarships for high school rowers with demonstrated need, and ensure transportation to rowing facilities.
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OUR COMMUNITY IMPACT
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RowDallas removes financial and logistical barriers for students, fostering confidence, resilience, and teamwork, while building relationships that support personal growth and community engagement.​
OUR MODEL FOR SUCCESS
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RowDallas focuses on building competitive indoor rowing teams at schools like Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy and St. Philips School and Community Center, while identifying students with potential for competitive rowing.
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FOCUS IN 2024-2025
RowDallas will continue to build a strong identity around rowing on the following South
Dallas campuses:
Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy
St. Philips School and Community Center
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We’re building competitive indoor rowing teams and identifying middle and high school
students who we think have the grit to row competitively in high school and even
college.
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TRANSPORTATION​
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DUC’s partnership with Wing Stop Charities is enabling ride-share services to provide pick-up and drop-off for students, ensuring their safe and reliable transportation to the lake for rowing.
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SWIMMING
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Knowing how to swim is a requirement for rowing, yet many students in underserved communities can't swim. In collaboration with the City of Dallas and Dallas ISD, students will have access to free swimming lessons at Dallas ISD Natatoriums starting with the 2024 Fall school year.
For more details about our current grant awards, go HERE
Donate to RowDallas HERE
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ROWDALLAS RECEIVES $100K IN GRANTS:
CHANGING THE FACE OF ROWING
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In September 2023, RowDallas announced it had received two significant grants totaling $100,000. “The grants will help our program break down the accessibility barriers – financial, transportation and swimming lessons,” explained DUC’s Executive Director Austin Brooks. Dick’s Sporting Goods' Sports Matter Foundation awarded RowDallas/DUC $75,000 as part of it’s 75 for 75 anniversary grant program with RowDallas being the first rowing program to receive a grant from the foundation. The second grant of $25,000 came from A Most Beautiful Thing Inclusion Fund, cofounded by Arshay Cooper, author and the captain of the first all black, high school rowing team. RowDallas is the first competitive rowing team to receive a grant from Cooper’s foundation. Cooper stated the grants will be used in part to purchase Concept2 ergometers (rowing machines) for three area schools, Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School near Fair Park, Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy in southeast Oak Cliff, and St. Philips School and Community Center in east Oak Cliff. The program will also include rowing training at the schools, academic support and access to swimming lessons all with the goal of the students joining the team in the spring.
During the events earlier in the week at the schools, Arshay shared with the students his stories of growing up in challenging circumstances in the gang-ridden West Side of Chicago and how rowing changed his life. Arshay commented, “These school events were electrifying, and the kids were fired up. They were raising their hands and had a lot of questions about rowing. Through fund we are excited to provide grants giving access to rowing to more black and brown kids.”
During Saturday’s event, the students received a boathouse tour, learned how to properly row on the rowing machines, and took a few strokes in the boat on the water. Jayel, a 7th grade student from Irma Lerma Rangel, shared her experiences from the event. “I liked (that) the bond between the coaches andthe students is really strong. I can tell that they're competitive. And I liked the amount of sportsmanship that they have. Even if we just met today, we were still encouraging each other.”
Tiffany Jackson, the Executive Director of Fiends of Barack Obama Male Leadership academy, commented, “We're so excited that we are partnering with Arshay Cooper, and Dallas United Crew to offer rowing here at the school. This is a great opportunity for young men, and we're so happy about all of the doors that are open for our brothers.”
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