In April 2014, we identified a community that could use our support and we have worked hard over the past few years to expand our partnership with Jamestown, Tennessee!  

Let's take everyone back to How This All Came About
It all starts with Lee Cooper who has been a volunteer coach in our Basketball program for many years.  Lee sits on the Basketball Board and he is also the JV Girls Coach at Westfield High School.  Lee's family is from Fentress County, Tennessee!  You all might be familiar with the most famous Jamestown Tennessee resident, Sergeant Alvin C. York.  Sergeant York is one of the most celebrated World War 1 veterans in our nation's history and upon returning from the war in Europe, established the Alvin C. York Agricultural Institute (York Institute) in Jamestown, Tennessee.  Jamestown is the county seat in Fentress County.  York Institute was founded as a private agricultural school in 1926 and later transferred to the state of Tennessee in 1937 which continues to operate it as a public High School to this day.  Lee and his 10 brothers and sisters attended York Institute and how about this for an interesting coincidence...the York Institute Colors are Purple and Gold!!  Learn more About York Institute here:  www2.york.k12.tn.us

Early in 2013, the CYA Board discussed the idea of gathering gently used gear/equipment and offering it to a community that may not be quite as privileged as our own.  Lee introduced us to his hometown and the rest is history!  We recently had a series of conversations with the various youth sport administrators in Fentress County and the determined that our donated gear/equipment would be well received and put to good use throughout Fentress County.  Carol Watson, Lee's sister, is currently the Director of the Upper Cumberland Human Resources Agency in Fentress County.  Carol has been instrumental in connecting CYA with the youth sports programs/school administrators throughout that region and we feel so blessed to have the opportunity to support the wonderful folks in Fentress County!

Let's Make Something Special Happen!
Starting right now, we are gathering "Gently Used and New Equipment/Gear to donate to the youth sports in Fentress County. This includes items such as Baseball Bats, Balls, Gloves, Football Equipment, Soccer Balls and anything else that our kids have either grown out of or simply don't use anymore.  We are asking all CYA Members to deliver these items to the CYA Office at 14810 Murdock Street, Chantilly (CYA Fieldhouse). Keep an eye on the CYA Weekly Buzz for information concerning Equipment Drive Dates.

We are heading to Jamestown, Tennessee!
We have made many trips to Jamestown over the past 10 years and we will be at it again in 2024. The first time we went, the folks in Jamestown held a wonderful reception for us (photos below).  We toured the local athletic facilities and the York Institute.  We also held discussions with the local athletic administrators to discuss ways in which we can work to develop our relationship over the coming years.  The simple fact is life in a small town like Jamestown, TN is vastly different than life in Fairfax County, VA and developing ways to introduce our communities is beneficial to kids in providing a new perspective on the world!

Cultural Exchange Between Athletes in Tennessee and Virginia.
The vision we at CYA have is the eventual establishment of sports activities where we can bring our athletes down to Tennessee to compete and vice versa.  Wouldn't that be exciting!
 

 We hope the entire CYA Community will rally around this event and help make it special!