History of Laureus with USTA/Midwest Tennis & Education Foundation
Who is Laureus USA?
Laureus USA is a grant-making, nonprofit organization that supports growth and deepens the impact of programs that use sport for social change. They believe…
Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. By supporting programs that directly serve youth, and driving collaboration between leaders from many sectors, we are able to advance our mission of to improve the lives of youth and unite communities through the power of sport.
Learn more about Laureus USA HERE
Announcement of Laureus Grant with MTEF
In the early months of 2023, Laureus USA embarked on a mission to support organizations that share a common vision: using sports as a catalyst for youth development and violence prevention. Their resolute dedication led to the awarding of grants to 41 exceptional organizations across Illinois, each one committed to making a difference in R3 zones—the very areas with the highest concentration of reported violence and child poverty throughout the state.
The idea of restore, reinvest, and renew (R3) program has been unprecedented in Illinois. It has created a pathway to addressing decades of underinvestment and harm caused by the war on drugs. It was designed to fund youth development, violence prevention, and healing solutions to the people and regions that have for too long been unheard and underserved. In 2019, the Cannabis Regulation Act required 25% of tax revenue to support these communities. This is a little history of where the government funding originated.
Laureus Grant Renewed for the 2024-2025 Year
Changing lives in Illinois has never been easier with a partner like Laureus USA. MTEF is proud to announce Laureus has renewed the Illinois grant for the year 2024-2025 with another $100,000, bringing our three year grant total to $450,000! We expanded to the entire state of Illinois, impacting rural and urban areas. The original grantees were included and were challenged with growth metrics. Each was required to submit strategic plans that included how they will overcome obstacles from last year and increase opportunities in their r3 zones. The Foundation uses this data in turn to create community impact reports that lead to insights and long-term outcomes that reflect programs' value.
Love to Serve
(Lori James) Since 1992, Love To Serve has provided under-resourced Chicago youth access to the non-traditional sport of tennis, along with our college readiness curriculum. The program’s goal is to help reduce violence by providing high quality structured programs that minimize youth involvement in unhealthy and high-risk behaviors. One huge success Love To Serve has had with this year’s grant is providing youth Kroc Center Memberships. This offers a protective factor for the students in this community to minimize unwanted outcomes for youth. Keeping under-resourced youth off the streets by creating an arena for them to participate in structured tennis and academic programs after-school, year-round, weekends and throughout the summer.
Tennis Evolution Evanston
This unique nonprofit is led by two USPTR-certified coaches who are outstanding women in the community. They bring in renowned USPTR-certified coach Don Walton as a mentor for the youth. Their mission is to grow Evanston’s youth tennis community by providing high-quality, inclusive, and fun year-round programming.
A major success has been introducing tennis to over 70 elementary-aged children, representing Evanston’s ethnic diversity. Our longstanding goal is for tennis participation in Evanston to mirror the city’s demographics. Currently, high school tennis participation does not reflect this diversity. Together with the community, we’re hopeful that our efforts are making a positive change.
Center Court
Long Giang Le has continued to make a difference in the Hispanic community of Aurora. He continues to bring an array of sports to these youth, offering exposure to boxing, hockey, swimming, and golf with a focus on tennis. His program also offers an educational component by teaching the kids about nutrition, physical education, and the physics of certain sports. Long Giang’s program has seen great success. Not only has he retained the individuals from last year’s grant program, but his students have also spread word adding several more students to his program. He has also maintained a relationship with Lite Leaders, which will also aid in increasing his outreach within the community.
TOP
Luca Serra supports under-resourced youth with one-on-one academic support through discipline learned on and off the court. Their goal is to achieve college education and the skills they teach will transfer to all aspects of youth’s lives. The students selected to be TOP Scholars are self-motivated, passionate tennis players, and hardworking students. TOP provides the resources and mentorship they need to continue to succeed and work toward a college scholarship. TOP will be able to provide 20-30 scholarships to the youth of Chicago with help from the Laureus grantee funds.
Chicago District Parks Department
The Chicago District Tennis Association is one of our largest outreach initiatives, supported by the Laureus grant. With these funds, they’ve been able to increase staff to accommodate more youth in their spring and summer camps. Currently, the team is training new staff on Hello Insight and Sports-Based Youth Development principles. In collaboration with the Chicago Park District, they are reaching out to parks interested in adding tennis to their programming. They have achieved over 40% growth, expanding from 12 to 20 parks for instruction this spring and summer, providing many youth with their first experience in the sport of tennis.
Mid-South Tennis Association
This program serves large rural areas of Illinois with multiple R3 zones and offers programming afterschool, weekend and year round. They use high school volunteers as coaches and have been successful with building leadership with youth. In the 2023-2024 year their outreach included over 350 youth. The kids will learn teamwork, balance, agility, hand-eye coordination, problem solving, self-reliance and much more, all while having fun and making friends. Mid-South plans to increase outreach by working with the local schools in the area. They have researched and found that 13 schools are within the R3 zones of this area and excited in partnering with as many as possible.
Tracking and Data Analysis - Hello Insight
The USTA/Midwest Tennis & Education Foundation believes positive youth development (PYD) is fostered through a community-centered approach involving NJTL (National Junior Tennis and Learning) chapters, CTAs (Community Tennis Associations), and dedicated volunteers. We measure our impact by tracking social and emotional learning (SEL) through Hello Insight, focusing on essential skills like empathy, self-regulation, and communication, which are vital for preventing violence and encouraging positive interactions.
SEL helps youth understand and manage emotions, set and achieve goals, empathize with others, build strong relationships, and make responsible decisions. To support this, we are committed to integrating SEL more fully into coach training, program delivery, and a model that ensures psychological and emotional safety alongside physical instruction.
Hello Insight is a powerful tool in this effort, providing data-driven insights that are measurable and trackable over the long term. This online platform uses research-based tools to assess SEL, helping youth development organizations demonstrate impact and enhance programs through pre-built surveys, predictive analytics, and automated reports.