he Philadelphia Police Athletic League is an independent non-profit corporation committed to "Cops Helping Kids". Philadelphia PAL, a registered 501(c)(3), is comprised of 27 centers across Philadelphia serving 26,000 youngsters both male and female. Each center is supervised by Philadelphia Police Officers who are assigned full-time to direct activities and oversee the young people. Programs include sport, educational and cultural opportunities. All PAL Centers are open Mon-Fri after school (3 p.m. -9 p.m.) and throughout the summer.

PAL is a mixture of police officers, civilian staff and a board of directors, which is made up of 100 of Philadelphia's business and community leaders (several of which are former PAL Alumni themselves).

Mission Statement

PAL is “Cops Helping Kids”, a charitable non-profit organization whose mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of young people and, in doing so, contribute to the overall quality of life in Philadelphia. By providing free educational, athletic and cultural after-school programs in a safe environment, PAL teaches life skills and provides experiences essential for youth to become successful and productive citizens. All PAL activities are supervised by full-time Philadelphia Police Department officers, providing a unique opportunity for strong and positive relationships among the youth, their communities and the Police Department.

Our History

It began in 1947 with a few volunteer officers organizing local kids to play baseball, basketball and football. With its success the Superintendent of Police (Howard P. Sutton) initiated a district sports program to promote a better relationship between policemen and the youth of the community. PAL continued to grow in popularity and in 1949 it incorporated as a non-profit organization. By 1950 enrollment was up to 2,350 boys engaged in sports competition. In 1951, the Christian Schmidt PAL Scholarship began with five PAL youngsters. With consistent support from private individuals and corporations PAL has developed into its current form and is helping more kids become success stories than ever before.