Funding will support career academy for rising youth and young adults.

CHICAGO – The Love Unity & Values Institute announces it has received a grant from the NBA
Foundation to support the participation of economically disadvantaged youth, parenting teens, and justice-involved youth in the nonprofit’s Journey to My Better Self Career Academy. This generous donation will enable the LUV Institute to serve 100 youth a year in the program.

The Journey to My Better Self Career Academy prepares youth and young adults ages 16 to 24 for college and/or careers by providing them with learning experiences that will make them more competitive in the labor market and prepare them for employment in high-growth industries. The LUV Institute leverages partnerships with local businesses, so students can gain work-based experience and earn a stipend of up to $1,250.

The Love, Unity & Values (LUV) Institute works with underserved youth to apply a restorative
and social-emotional approach to college and career readiness for young people of color who have experienced trauma. Since 2012, the LUV Institute has served more than 3,200 young people in Chicago aged 11 to 24, many of them in the foster care system. Seventy-eight percent have either gone on to attend college or been placed in a job, with a 72 percent retention rate.

“Words cannot express the depth of gratitude that we feel toward the NBA Foundation for enabling us to provide these services to even more youth from underserved communities,” said Cosette Nazon-Wilburn, executive director of the LUV Institute. “When our students do well, it inspires their peers to want to do better, too. It’s important that young people see others like them being successful.”

Created in August 2020, the NBA Foundation is the league’s first-ever charitable foundation dedicated to driving economic opportunity for Black youth. The Foundation invests in local and national organizations that promote school-to-career and workforce development opportunities.

Media contact: Shawn Taylor | tshawntaylor@yahoo.com | 312-371-6260.

February 10, 2023