Memphis Grizzlies' charity honored
When Jenny Koltnow first learned that the Memphis Grizzlies Charitable Foundation was one of four professional sports charitable foundations to be nominated for the Beyond Sport Awards' Sport Team of the Year category, needless to say she was ecstatic.
Then, after looking at the other three teams also nominated -- the Manchester City and Liverpool soccer teams and the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles -- not to mention the other international teams the Grizzlies Foundation beat out to become a finalist, Koltnow found herself a bit overwhelmed.
"When I started to review the other short-listed organizations, it was pretty humbling to be among organizations that really span dozens of countries and organizations that are so well known worldwide," said Koltnow, executive director of the foundation. "... I think on some level it drives us to work even harder so that we can live up to that recognition."
Koltnow will represent the foundation at the Beyond Sport Summit and Awards in Cape Town, South Africa, Dec. 5-8, where the winner will be announced. The Beyond Sport Awards program provides both funding and business support to projects around the world that use sports to address issues in their community.
The Grizzlies Foundation was nominated for its TEAM UP Youth Mentoring Initiative, which provides training and technical assistance, and helps recruit mentors for programs throughout Memphis. The foundation, which was founded in 2004, has donated $27 million to non-profit organizations around the city.
"We're really excited to have that global recognition," Koltnow said. "And I think it's a real validation of what we've been striving for and what we've been doing over the last five or six years. We've been working on mentoring for many years and had to build a pretty strong foundation, and include a lot of partners and individuals to create a successful initiative. I feel like this is recognition of the work that's been done and the contribution of so many."
Koltnow said the foundation had one of its most successful years this past year. First, a new model was put in place that put together a team of three mentors who were assigned a group of nine students.
Not only did that allow them to reach more students, but it provided a more comfortable environment for mentors who struggled with one-on-one mentoring.
The foundation also started a program called Teammates, which provides a means to keep track of mentors the foundation had recruited and placed with organizations, as well as provide them with additional training and support.
"For organizations who might be on the fence, hopefully this (award nomination) will push them in our favor so that we can get them involved and be able to connect them with kids in need in Memphis," Koltnow said.
