PAWS (originally known for Providing Animal Welfare Services) was started by Matt Piccone along with the support of his wife, Laura, many family and friends, and supportive community partners back in 2012. The goal was to provide the resources and support needed by many inner city pet owners in order to properly care for their pets.
Fast forward to the present, and PAWS has transformed its mission in order to adapt to societal changes and needs, and although our mission has changed, our overall goal of social change within our community hasn’t wavered. PAWS Youth and Advocacy Center is committed to serving our community through youth sports. We believe sports, primarily baseball, will serve as a catalyst for social change within our community and surrounding areas.
We reside in a 20,000+ square-foot multi-faceted facility, which consists of two floors. PAWS is powered by Accurate Sports and Entertainment Complex where we strive to enable leadership and advocacy through sports, improve and hone athletic skills and abilities, foster physical development, develop confidence and self-esteem, social and interpersonal skills, as well as enable youth to benefit from the communal aspect of team sports.
There’s also a gym and turfed field designed for the purpose of conditioning and strengthening athletes to be at their peak performance. The second floor is an extension of our first floor sports complex with a 70-foot batting cage, designed for live hitting and pitching, a pitching mound, matted area for tumbling, wrestling, boxing and cheer practice. In addition to a large open space, there is a multi-purpose room and a room designated to become a high-tech room in the near future.
We are focused on building future advocates for change, and we strongly believe sports, primarily baseball/softball, is a catalyst for initiating that change. Our unique facility is located at 632 Hollenbeck Street, near E. Ridge Rd. in Rochester, NY.