NBA Foundation and PeacePlayers U.S. Renew Partnership
Confirming their Shared Commitment to Career Development for Black Youth
October 8, 2024
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The NBA Foundation’s investment will directly support the expansion of PeacePlayers’ leadership and professional development initiatives in Brooklyn, Detroit and Los Angeles, to provide more comprehensive opportunities for career exploration and employment for Black youth.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Following two initial years of successful partnership, NBA Foundation has renewed its investment in PeacePlayers United States to further deepen the impact and reach of the PeacePlayers Leadership Development Program in Brooklyn, Detroit and Los Angeles.
The renewed partnership will ensure that PeacePlayers’ leadership skill building translates into future job opportunities and workforce development for Black youth from underserved communities. The program will increase participant engagement and opportunity well into college and beyond, as young people leverage the available services and networks to be successful in their careers and personal lives. This will yield a leadership pipeline of young Black professionals with the mindset, skills and resources to serve as role models in the community and advocate for employment equity, ultimately building stronger, more connected communities.
PeacePlayers will also leverage the partnership with the NBA Foundation to actively engage NBA teams across PeacePlayers U.S. cities to drive deeper community investment and create meaningful opportunities for the teams to engage with the communities where they play. Currently, PeacePlayers enjoys strong partnerships with the Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers and Brooklyn Nets.
“Our partnership with the NBA Foundation is critical to our vision of using the power of sport to build more peaceful and thriving communities with youth leadership at the epicenter. We look forward to making more inroads in our economic empowerment work, leveraging this partnership and our PeacePlayers network to create meaningful programs that empower youth to pursue family-sustaining careers and to lead in their communities,” says Sally Nnamani, Co-Executive Director, PeacePlayers United States.
“PeacePlayers is an invaluable partner across multiple markets and takes a unique approach to our shared mission of empowering Black youth. Through our growing relationship we look forward to deepening the impact of the power of sports to uplift communities,” says Lauren Sills, Head of Operations, NBA Foundation.
For more information, contact: Sally Nnamani, PeacePlayers U.S. Co-Executive Director: snnamani@peaceplayers.org
About PeacePlayers
PeacePlayers is a global, youth-led movement dedicated to creating peaceful and thriving communities across the world – through basketball. Founded in 2001, PeacePlayers has worked with more than 75,000 young people in 22 countries, and operates year-round local programs in Northern Ireland, the Middle East, South Africa, and the United States.
In 2017, Nike helped launch, and continues to support, PeacePlayers United States as a flagship partner. PeacePlayers U.S. uses basketball to help youth navigate the systemic social, economic, and educational inequities they face in order to thrive and to be active players in dismantling disparities and racial divides. PeacePlayers U.S. operates in Brooklyn, Detroit, Baltimore, Chicago and Los Angeles.
To learn more, visit www.peaceplayers.org.
About the NBA Foundation
Created in August 2020, the NBA Foundation is the league’s first-ever charitable foundation dedicated to driving economic opportunity for Black youth. The Foundation invests in local and national organizations that promote school-to-career and workforce development opportunities. For more information visit nbafoundation.com
