READING & BERKS, PA— Former Reading standout basketball player Lonnie Walker IV and his foundation joined with leaders from two local youth organizations to announce their combined effort to offer a program that combines providing academic support, leadership development and community service with the sport of basketball. This joint effort will be open to the youth of Reading and Berks County at 5 of the Olivet Boys & Girls Club sites.
“This partnership expands our ability to mentor our players off the court,” said Tremayne Jones, Director and Founder of Reading KTB. “We want to ensure that we are developing leaders that will ultimately come back and pay it forward in our community”.
Lonnie Walker IV always wanted to have youth basketball team represent his city. It only made sense to partner with Reading KTB, the oldest AAU organization in Reading and Olivet, the long-standing youth-service organization in Reading.
“Lonnie is super excited for the opportunity to join forces with Reading KTB and the Olivet Boys & Girls Club program to provide support and empowerment for the youth of the city,” said Charles Leonard, Project Manager for the Lonnie Walker IV Foundation
Reading High coach and Olivet Alum, Rick Perez, is excited about the partnership. “This is quite exciting to see taking place, this is beyond basketball and a statement for our city” he said. Almost all his current players in the Reading High Basketball program played in the KTB program and/or attended Olivet Boys & Girls Club.
“Over the years I’ve heard adults talk about how much they do for kids but are never willing to put their pride aside and work together to create something bigger than their individual organizations. Now we have 3 organizations coming together for the betterment of our children and who better to do it than the long-standing AAU program in the city Reading KTB, the dedicated and respected Olivet Boys & Girls Club organization and the Lonnie Walker Foundation. I’m so excited for the platform that our children will get to experience that will reach way beyond the basketball court,’ stated Perez.
Chris Winters. President and CEO for Olivet said, “To work together as a team to offer not only a basketball program, but a program which provides mentorship is critical to support our youth during these times. This program will help our youth become leaders in their community, teaching them to give back and serve their community and includes the core values of our Olivet mission in helping them reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens.”
Winters said this program will not impact the remote learning hubs or other programming at the Olivet Boys & Girls Club sites, instead he believes this great relationship will enhance opportunities for youth.
Jones and Winters said the combined effort will announce the start dates for the program on their websites and social media accounts soon. All security and safety protocols and procedures to protect the health and well-being of the youth, their coaches and their mentors will be undertaken by the personnel involved with the program, including sanitization practices, mask-wearing, temperature checks and participant surveys.
For more information about Reading Kid the Ball visit: http://www.ktbnation.com/
For more information about Olivet Boys & Girls Club visit: www.olivetbgc.org
For more information about the Lonnie Walker Foundation, visit Lonnie Walker IV Foundation
