Nearly 13,000 kids, in fact.

That's a big part why nonprofit groups Think Detroit and the Detroit Police Athletic League have merged into one organization.

The new Think Detroit PAL gives Detroit youngsters the chance to participate in a variety of sports throughout the year. Kids range in age from about 5 to about 16.

The organization was created earlier this year, combining revenue of approximately $2.8 million to support youth sports.

The merging of the programs allows the organizations to combine resources, locations and maintenance. The streamlining saves enough money to keep all existing youth sports programs in place.

That's good news to parents like Henry Johnson, whose children participate in various Think Detroit PAL activities.

"A lot of kids just run the streets or have nothing to do," he said. "Here, you've got structure, and a chance to do things with your friends."

The most popular program is football, which has nearly 3,000 participants. Other popular programs include soccer with 2,000 youngsters, softball and baseball with 1,800 and cheerleading with 1,300.

Those are good numbers, said Dan Varner, chief operating officer of Think Detroit PAL. But he'd like to see the numbers grow.

"We felt pretty confident, with the numbers coming in, we'd get to 12,000," he said. "Our goal is 20,000, based on 10% of the school-aged population, based on the 2000 Census."

Since the 1970s, PAL provided children the chance to take part in sports programs and after-school activities. Think Detroit, which originated in 1997, offered both athletics and camp programs for youth leadership.

While Think Detroit PAL is operating out of an office on Willis, the group is considering whether to stay in that location or to find a new administrative home.

The combined group is now using a variety of fund-raising means, including grants, program fees, corporate sponsorship and special events.

"One of our goals was to diversify the revenue stream," Varner said.