Story
Active City was born out of a collaboration between leaders from two successful youth sports programs in the City of Hartford.  Saturday Hoopsters, a winter youth basketball program which serves 600 children, and Hartford Soccer Club, a youth soccer program which serves 400 children, were previously independent youth recreation programs.  These programs, like many youth sports and recreation programs in the City, lacked the advantages of support from a parent organization or Board of Directors that would be able to help oversee operations, pinpoint the needs of the children in the City, assist in fundraising, share best practices, and centralize advertising and registration operations.  In an effort to fill this management gap and to help reach and serve more children and families in Hartford, a Board of Directors was created in Fall 2013 and Active City received its tax-exempt status in September 2014.  Both Saturday Hoopsters and Hartford Soccer Club, now fall under the structure of Active City as its first two members, and more partnerships are being sought to maximize the benefits Active City can provide.

Mission
Active City works with community stakeholders to transform Hartford into America’s most physically active city for children. It will ensure that all Hartford youth have access to organized and affordable sports and physically active recreational programs. These programs will grow and develop their spirit, mind, and body, while also fostering relationships between the city’s youth and positive members of our community. 

Vision
Active City is a non-profit organization formed to bring together different sports and recreation organizations to better organize and support youth recreation throughout the city. Long standing youth programs such as Saturday Hoopsters, Hartford Soccer Club, and Mayor Mike’s Little League now fall under Active City’s structure. The creation of Active City is intended to better serve Hartford’s youth. By combining ongoing efforts to keep children active we hope to not only improve the quality of the existing programs, but also increase the availability of the programs by increasing awareness and keeping costs low to families.