Laureus USA Sport for Good New Orleans Presents Growing in The Game

On December 6th, Laureus USA Sport for Good New Orleans welcomed the community in for its first in-person convening since the pandemic with “Growing in The Game.” Local stakeholders, including athletes, businesses, government, school leaders, philanthropy, professional teams, and direct service organizations were invited to create space to grow an ecosystem for youth in New Orleans, focusing on more access and participatory opportunities in sport. We were thrilled to bring together our Sport for Good New Orleans community as we continue to grow the work locally and shine a light on the power of sport. 

Laureus Ambassador and former NFL star Markus Kuhn led a panel on the Power of Sport – highlighting the voices of local partners Brian Randolph (Reaching for The Stars), Gerald Williams (Excite All Stars), and Laureus USA impact partner Dr. Kim Sabo Flores (Hello Insight). Within the context of elevating youth participation in sport, and leaning on the Laureus USA and Hello Insight’s Hitting a Home Run in Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) report, practitioners shared valuable, data-supported takeaways on how sports-based youth development programs are engaging youth. Sharing experiences from their organizations, practitioners were able to reiterate that young people in SBYD programs are far more likely to experience the key positive youth development practices associated with growth in SEL outcomes vs than those in non-sports programs.  

During the second panel, Laureus USA New Orleans Program Officer Tiffany Aidoo brought in Risa Hall (Allstate Sugar Bowl), Tess Belt (Tulane Center for Sport) and Jahanna Brightman (NORDC) for an engaging conversation on the importance of creating space and partnerships to help facilitate supportive, collaborative connections in the New Orleans SBYD space. Panelists explored the different types of partnerships that can exist in the community, which are not defined by power dynamics or transactional relationships but rather defined by the ability to explore how they offer and receive each other’s strengths as organizations and how that affects the overall well-being of youth through sport. 

As part of building a strong coalition of organizations in New Orleans, Laureus USA invites the community to get involved with the work we’re doing to expand opportunities through sport for youth. For more information on joining our Sport for Good New Orleans Leadership Council or general membership, reach out to Tiffany Aidoo at tiffany.aidoo@laureus.com.