Wolves Present Youth 1st Inc. With $5,000 Grant
The Timberwolves FastBreak Foundation honored Youth 1st Inc with an on-court presentation during Wednesday's game at Target Center during the Wolves matchup with the Orlando Magic. In October, the Fastbreak Foundation celebrated new seasons, new beginnings—which reflects the excitement and opportunity a new NBA season both on and off the court. The foundation highlights those who work hard to create new opportunities for Minnesota’s youth.
Youth First Community of Promise is an organization whose mission is to put the development of the young person as the 1st priority of all youth activity programs in the community. Youth 1st provides training and education, tools and resources for coaches, parents, participants, organizers, volunteers and officials. Youth 1st believes that if we put the primary focus on developing core values in the young person, we will see kids who have a foundation of balance in their life that will allow them to better deal with the variety of pressures that high school students face today.
Timberwolves President Chris Wright presented the check for $5,000 to co-founders Mark Arjes and Mark Hendricks.
“We’re going to continue to expand the message platform that we have as far as value youth activities programs," Arjes said. "We’re working with our youth basketball association and they’re hosting four tournament weekends coming up this winter.”
Each month during the 2013-14 season the FastBreak Foundation will focus on a specific area of giving. The Foundation will award a $5,000 grant for each of the seven months of the season (October-April). In addition to the grant, the winners will receive tickets to a game where they will be honored on court.
The Timberwolves FastBreak Foundation provides and supports hands-on programs that positively impact Minnesota youth. Through giving, education and basketball opportunities, the Foundation enables young people to make responsible decisions, contribute to their futures, and experience lifelong memories.
In the past year, the Minnesota Timberwolves FastBreak Foundation and the Minnesota Lynx Foundation have combined to impact 2,028 organizations with $750,000 in-kind donations, 60,000 Tickets for Kids donations, 4,226 volunteer hours, 45 Heroes in the Making on-court presentations and fourteen $5,000 grants.