Children's Outreach, Inc. is a 501C3 nonprofit organization that benefits Santa Cruz County Sports (SCCS). SCCS…More introduces kids to the fun, teamwork and skills involved with playing soccer and lacrosse. The soccer program focuses around kids ages 3 to 6 years old, and the lacrosse program covers kids ages 6 to 15 years old. SCCS even offers pickup lacrosse games for adults.</p> <p>Local residents Wes and Karen Koenig started the organization when numerous doubters said their own son was too young to learn the fundamentals of soccer. When they started the program, over 100 kids showed up to learn the sport, and now the league consistently fills up the rosters on each team in this locally popular organization.</p> <p>SCCS now reaches out to an even larger inclusion of kids and teenagers through lacrosse, which is quickly becoming an extremely popular sport in the county (all thanks to Coach Wes's love for the sport). As a result of the lacrosse program, every high school in the county now has a lacrosse team, and the SCCS lacrosse teams have become an ideal steppingstone to prepare kids for high school varsity teams (and beyond). </p> <p>For those who have a hard time paying for equipment and registration fees, Wes and Karen also founded Children's Outreach.  Children's Outreach is a nonprofit corporation that benefits the athletic youth in Santa Cruz County by providing scholarships to cover the costs associated with the sport to financially disadvantaged families who are interested in enrolling their children in SCCS.</p> <p>Raising funds so kids can have an opportunity to play soccer and lacrosse is the primary goal of Children's Outreach. But the organization has incredible and long-term aspirations to build a very comprehensive youth center. Ultimately, the proposed plans include a large facility for sports, tutoring, drama and other after-school programs for children throughout the entire county of Santa Cruz.       </p>