Sport for Good Annual Review Case Study - Employability

Employability is one of the 6 Social Focus Areas that Laureus Sport for Good provides funding and support to enable programmes to tackle, aligned to the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs).

Laureus’ objective in this area is to support young people and children in developing skills and creating pathways to employment. The global economic recession means that young people are going to find it much harder to transition into employment without vocational skills. Without direction and opportunity they will become disengaged. Sport can be the tool that retains their interest and helps develop those skills and create the pathways to employment.

Jalil Anderson grew up in the South Shore neighbourhood of Chicago, a vibrant community, but one that has faced divestment and persistent gang activity over the last 30 years. The challenges of the community created a sense of unsafety for Jalil and a pressure to join peers in street activity.

Entering teenage years, Jalil did not have other opportunities to play sports until he met LaVonte Stewart Sr, Executive Director of Lost Boyz Inc, when he was 14. As somebody who grew up in the same neighbourhood as Jalil, LaVonte understood the unique opportunities and challenges that would come before Jalil and took him under his wing. 

Jalil began attending the programme as an unpaid volunteer and after some time LaVonte gave him a job. Through this program, Jalil was able to bring in a pay-check, and gain valuable skills by attending Civic Engagement seminars each week on subjects like personal finance and starting a business.

LaVonte also introduced Jalil to the sport of baseball. Though he came to the sport late, Jalil found instant success and after only a year on the high school baseball team Jalil was accepted into Olive-Harvey Community College and earned a spot on the baseball team. After a year there, he earned his way into Harris-Stowe State University, a historically black University in St. Louis, where he also plays baseball. Throughout this time, Jalil has stayed connected with Lost Boyz and is a paid coach for their programme.

Annual Review 2019 – Employability Headline Facts

In 2019 alone, as a direct result of Laureus Sport for Good funding and support: