About | MARA

MISSION

The mission of the Michiana Academic and Recreation Alliance is to unite after-school and summer providers in a shared effort to close opportunity gaps by offering high-quality sports, recreation, tutoring, and academic enrichment for all children.

VISION

MARA envisions a South Bend where every child, in every neighborhood, has a safe place to learn, play, and grow with caring adults, regardless of family income, zip code, or athletic ability.

HISTORY

In June 2019, Play Like a Champion Today partnered with youth sports leaders in the South Bend community to improve the health and well-being of youth in South Bend by increasing participation in sports and recreation. 15 founding organizations launched the Michiana Athletic and Recreation Association (MARA) with a vision that every child regardless of race, ethnicity, income, or ability should be provided the opportunity to play in a safe and supportive environment.

By 2025, the founding 15 organizations expanded to 95 partners who voted to formally add “Academic” to the name, change “Association” to “Alliance” and add the tagline “A Safe Place to Learn and Play,” reflecting the alliance’s growing role in tutoring, literacy support, and academic enrichment across South Bend signaling our commitment to academic progress alongside physical, social, and emotional development.

Our Approach: Stronger Together

MARA believes no single organization can meet the needs of all children. That is why we organize as an alliance, not just an association.

MARA:

Convenes partners regularly to share data, align strategies, and identify gaps in service.
Supports training for coaches, mentors, and tutors to ensure high-quality experiences.
Advocates for policies and funding that prioritize children in under-resourced neighborhoods.

Philosophy: Whole Child, Whole Community

MARA’s philosophy is grounded in the belief that the development of the whole child—academic, physical, social, and emotional—requires both strong schools and vibrant out-of-school opportunities.

Because children spend 75–80 percent of their waking hours outside of school, the community has a shared responsibility to ensure that those hours are safe, enriching, and full of possibility. By working together, we can ensure that every child has at least one safe, enriching place to go after school and during the summer.

The Urgency: Caring for All Children, All the Time

In South Bend, advantaged and disadvantaged children often live in two different worlds. One world has access to “pay-to-play” clubs, travel teams, camps, and enrichment programs; the other relies on underfunded community programs that cannot meet the needs of all children who would benefit. MARA exists to ensure that the second world—where families cannot pay—does not become the place where potential is lost.

Why Afterschool and Summer Matter

Research across the country has documented that high-quality afterschool and summer programs:

Improve grades and test scores in core subjects like math and reading.
Increase school-day attendance and reduce chronic absenteeism.
Strengthen positive social behaviors and reduce problem behaviors.
Build social-emotional skills that support long-term success in school, work, and civic life.

For children who would otherwise go home to empty houses, unsafe environments, or unstructured time, these programs are often the single most important protective factor in their day.

Equity and Collective Impact

MARA is committed to equity: ensuring that resources, opportunities, and supports flow first to children and communities with the greatest needs.

To achieve this, MARA advances a collective impact approach:

A shared vision and goals for children’s academic, social, and physical development.
Common metrics to track progress across programs and neighborhoods.
Coordinated strategies rather than isolated efforts or competition for limited funds.

Moral Obligation and Future Workforce

“There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we have the resources to get rid of it.” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

MARA takes this conviction seriously. The alliance believes South Bend has the people, institutions, and resources to ensure that every child has a fair chance to learn, play, and succeed. The question is not whether the resources exist; it is whether they will be organized and shared.

Investing in children’s out-of-school time is also an investment in the city’s future workforce and civic life. Students who succeed academically, feel connected to caring adults, and develop teamwork, resilience, and leadership through sports and enrichment are more likely to graduate, pursue postsecondary education, and contribute to a thriving local economy.

Our Call To South Bend

MARA invites:

Families to connect with alliance programs and share what their children need.
Community members to volunteer, mentor, tutor, and advocate.
Organizations to join the alliance and coordinate efforts.
Employers, philanthropists, and public leaders to invest in sustainable staffing, transportation, volunteer paid-time-off and program expansion.

The future of South Bend’s workforce, neighborhoods, and civic life depends on the choices we make for our children now.