Focus Area: Youth Development
Grant Amount: $7,500
Located in the diverse East side of St. Paul, established in 1991, Saint Paul Urban Tennis was established in 1991 by a group of tennis enthusiasts and community leaders with a shared vision to transform underserved youth in their community. The program has served over 3,000 participants and has grown to be a year-round youth development program.
Grant supports the Summer Enrichment Series, serving over 180 youth, pairing weekly tennis instruction with distinct enrichment themes, including cooking, visual art, wildlife education, Muay Thai, leadership development, STEM, and basketball, creating an integrated learning experience that builds skill, identity, and connection simultaneously. Central to the model is a team of teen and young adult Youth Coaches, 70% of whom are former Saint Paul Urban Tennis participants themselves. These coaches are not just instructors; they are neighborhood role models whose presence communicates to younger youth that belonging and leadership are possible for them, too. All programming is anchored by the organization's SPIRIT framework: service, perseverance, integrity, responsibility, imagination, and teamwork.