History
Philadelphia Youth Basketball (PYB) was founded in Spring of 2015 by five passionate civic leaders grounded by a common purpose: to leverage the iconic game of basketball to help today’s underserved youth overcome the most urgent and systemic issues facing their communities. Since then, PYB has been working hard to build a high-impact and high-quality program, organization, and future Youth Basketball, Education, and Communinty Empowerment center, quite literally “brick by brick”.
Since its inception, PYB has built a small but mighty staff team, diverse Board of Directors, community-based volunteer pool, and collection of dynamic advisory committees. We are proud of our broad donor network across Philadelphia and the tri-state region, breaking all lines of race, gender, ethnicity, and class – a true grassroots approach.
We are committed to refining our current core programs and developing new programs that tackle the time-relevant challenges of young people and community members alike. In 2020, we created the I Am Because We Are and Learning Pods programs to address the challenges of youth gun violence and virtual learning challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively. PYB will always observe the issues of the day, working to address the needs of the community through new programs and initiatives.
2015-2021
December 2015 – Press conference announcing the Philadelphia Youth Basketball concept and organizational mission
June 2015 – Philadelphia Youth Basketball is founded
October 2015 – Launch of the Middle School Partnership Program (MSPP), PYB’s first annual program in partnership with select Philadelphia middle schools
June 2016 – Launch of the annual Collegiate Summer Camp Series hosted on local college & university campuses
May 2017 – Launch of the HoopHers Girls Empowerment Program, PYB’s first gender-specific program for girls
March 2019 – PYB hosts the inaugural Game Time Gala at The Fitler Club, raising more than $320,000
March 2019 – Philadelphia native & NBA Legend Kobe Bryant surprises PYB student-athletes with a visit to our MSPP partner, Andrew Hamilton Elementary School, for a roundtable discussion about his children’s book, The Wizenard Series: Training Camp
November 2019 – PYB hosts its first ever Girls Empowerment Symposium featuring WNBA Champion & MVP Elena Delle Donne to discuss the challenges female student-athletes face
January 2020 – Launch of PYB’s Leadership Development Academy, in partnership with the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, for emerging leaders in PYB’s network
March 2020 – Launch of PYB’s virtual MSPP Stay at Home Tournament to stay connected with young people during the COVID-19 pandemic
September 2020 – Launch of PYB Learning Pods to address virtual learning challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic
September 2020 – Launch of the I Am Because We Are program for youth who have become involved in street life
January 2021 – PYB hosts the second annual Game Time Gala, unveiling plans for the Alan Horwitz ‘Sixth Man’ Center and publicly launching the Capital Campaign to fund the project
Happy 4th Birthday, PYB! A word from our President & CEO
Dear Friends of PYB, June 1, 2019, marks the beginning of the 5th year of operations for Philadelphia Youth Basketball, and we are proud to report that the start-up phase of building a robust and relevant organization has been achieved. This foundational work, which...