Beyond the Field: What We Built This Summer

School ended. The safety net disappeared.

For many of the immigrant and refugee families we serve in Louisville, summer break is not a relief — it is a gap. No structure. No meals. No mentors. Parents who work long hours and cannot afford childcare. Children with nowhere safe to go and nothing to do.

More Than A Smile Foundation’s Beyond the Field program exists to close that gap. This summer, we did.

What Beyond the Field Looks Like

Beyond the Field is free, structured programming for youth ages 5 to 18 during every school break — summer, winter, spring, and fall. This past summer, we served more than 200 young people across multiple weeks of programming.

Every day was full. Sports in the morning. Arts and creative projects in the afternoon. Cultural programming woven throughout. Leadership workshops for older youth. Meals provided so no child went hungry.

The sports component is where the name comes from — but the program has always been about more than athletics. Soccer and basketball build teamwork and discipline. But the arts build expression. The cultural programming builds identity. The leadership workshops build voice. Together, they build a whole person.

The Families Behind the Numbers

Two hundred youth is a number. But behind that number are families.

There are mothers who dropped their children off on the first day of summer programming and cried on the way home — not from sadness, but from relief. There are fathers who work double shifts and know their kids are somewhere safe, somewhere good. There are grandparents who came to pick up their grandchildren and stayed to watch them perform.

There are children who started the summer shy and ended it standing at a microphone. Children who made their first real friend. Children who discovered they were good at something they had never tried before.

That is what Beyond the Field builds. Not just a safe summer. A better one.

What Comes Next

Summer programming is one piece of a larger commitment. Beyond the Field runs during every school break — which means fall break, winter break, and spring break are all coming. Each one is an opportunity to show up for the families who need it most.

This fall, we are launching the Fund the Breaks campaign to ensure we have the resources to keep every break covered. If you want to be part of what we build next, visit our donation page or learn more about how to invest in this program.

The kids are counting on it.