Full Frame explores the power of sports to create a better world

Full Frame

The world of sports has taken some big hits lately including the most recent abuse scandals at the NFL. This week Full Frame looks at how sports can cause positive effects by enabling people to overcome personal limitations and help others. Sports can also help children develop essential life skills, such as persistence, teamwork, and communication.

Creating a New Kind of Grand Slam
With over 200 combined singles titles, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are undoubtedly two of the most legendary names in professional tennis. The couple, who married in 2001, are now using their achievements to create a platform to create change.

Both their fathers introduced them to tennis at an early age, instilling in each of them an intense work ethic. That ethic led Agassi to win eight Grand Slam titles, and Graf to win 22 Grand Slams and 1 Golden Slam title. Despite their honors, both said they felt an utter sense of relief and calm when it came time to retire.

Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf discuss their charitable work

With over 200 combined singles titles, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are undoubtedly two of the most legendary names in professional tennis. The couple, who married in 2001, are now using their achievements to create a platform to create change.

In 1994, Agassi started the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education to assist under-privileged youth in Las Vegas. As a teenager, Agassi left formal school behind to train full-time, a sacrifice that has ultimately influenced his approach to philanthropy. Agassi opened the first Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas in 2001. Since then, he’s opened 38 more schools across the country and established a number of other programs to teach children.

The focus of Graf’s philanthropy has been global. She started her own organization, Children for Tomorrow, a nonprofit organization that supports children and families who are victims of war, persecution, and violence. The program works with children in Uganda, Eritrea, and Kosovo, to provide services to assist children in processing their traumatic experiences.

The tennis legends sit down with Full Frame host Mike Walter in Las Vegas to talk about their professional careers, as well as their lives away from the court. Follow Andre Agassi @AndreAgassi

Agassi and Graf making a difference after retirement

With over 200 combined singles titles, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are undoubtedly two of the most legendary names in professional tennis. The couple, who married in 2001, are now using their achievements to create a platform to create change.

Living Beyond Limits

When she was only 19, Amy Purdy was in the best shape of her life. She was healthy and active up until the day she was rushed to the hospital in a state of septic shock. Within minutes she experienced respiratory and organ failure. The doctors diagnosed her with bacterial meningitis and gave her less than a 2 percent chance of survival. She spent two weeks in a coma and narrowly avoided death. When she awoke, the doctors tole her that her legs needed to be amputated due to the damage caused by the lack of circulation. Two years later, she also needed a kidney transplant.

Determined to defy all of the odds, just three months after receiving the transplant, Purdy competed in a national snowboarding championship and medaled in three events.

But it was only the beginning of Purdy’s remarkable journey. She would go on to win a Bronze medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and she competed on Dancing With The Stars. She even finished as a runners up, with only four days between her competition in Sochi and the premiere of the dance competition show. Purdy also co-founded Adaptive Action Sports, a nonprofit that empowers people living with permanent disabilities to get involved in action sports.

Purdy stoped by the studio to talk about living beyond limits and why she’s driven to prove that the things that happen to us do not define who we are. Follow Amy Purdy @AmyPurdyGurl

Athlete Amy Purdy defies physical limitations

Amy Purdy survived bacterial meningitis that took both her legs. Just a few years later, she had a kidney transplant. Months after the transplant, Purdy competed in a national snowboarding championship and medaled in three events and she would go on to win a bronze medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Today Purdy runs a nonprofit that empowers people living with permanent disabilities to get involved in action sports.

Soccer builds teamwork, empowers women

In soccer, a “give-and-go” is one of the most fundamental plays. One player passes the ball to a teammate, who in turn takes one or two touches and passes it back. Meanwhile the first player bypasses defenders and moves down the field. This play, like many others in football, not only relies on communication between the players, but also confidence and trust in one another.

It’s no surprise then that soccer has been used by countless organizations and celebrities as a tool for positive change, particularly for children dealing with the aftermath of violence, war, poverty and political turmoil in their native countries.

Mark Kabban of the San Diego-based nonprofit YALLA or Youth and Leaders Living Actively, uses the sport as a hook to help immigrant and refugee children rebuild their lives in the United States and see college as a realistic goal.

Awista Ayub, the founder of the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange, introduced soccer to Afghan girls in the immediate aftermath of the war in Afghanistan and also sparked a movement for female empowerment. She’s written about her story in her book, Kabul Girls Soccer Club.

Kabban, Ayub, and Osama Abdulazeez, one of YALLA’s many participants, join the show to talk about the sport and its life-changing impact on children’s lives.Follow YALLA @YALLASD

Soccer 1[3]

While fans around the world tuned in to watch some of the world’s best soccer players compete for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, another global soccer tournament was also taking place: the Street Child World Cup.

Prior to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the government started a campaign to “clean up” the streets of Durban in preparation for the games. The campaign sought to remove people living on the city’s streets, including 300 kids, by forcing them out of the city center or detaining them.

The Street Child World Cup was founded in response to the policy, giving children, who have either lived or worked on the streets, an opportunity to participate in a country-by-country soccer competition. The organization continued its efforts in 2014, hosting a competition in conjunction with the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. This year, kids also had the opportunity to express themselves artistically.

Full Frame takes a trip to the streets of Brazil to see how the organization is reminding people worldwide of the humanity of children, even if they live on the streets. Follow the Street Child World Cup @SCWC2014

 SCWC[3]

Tune in to Full Frame on CCTV America at 7:00 pm EDT on September 27, 2014. Or watch the live stream of the program here.