BTB's Summer Youth basketball tournament, sponsored by HRP, began with a ceremonial tip-off joined by Beyond the Ball Executive Director and co-founder Robert Castaneda and HRP CEO Roberto Perez, who were later joined by Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson. The tournament was attended by local youth and community members and formed part of the BTB flagship program Project Play. Project Play engages families around sport and play to build community and promote public safety.
"At HRP we collaborate with our local community partners to get to know each community we build in, and we are truly inspired by the dedicated and impactful work of Beyond the Ball and Project Play in Little Village," said HRP CEO Roberto Perez. "We are proud to have worked closely with Beyond the Ball for years, and we are excited to renovate and reactivate the Gary Elementary basketball courts which are at the center of the community's efforts to create safe local play spaces through basketball. We want to thank our philanthropic partners at Hilco Helps and all of the Little Village leaders and community members who joined in this initiative."
The three outdoor basketball courts were recently renovated through a donation from HRP; the renovations included asphalt pavement repair and resurfacing, fence repairs, LED lighting, and striping.
"For as long as 25 years, the basketball courts had been minimally lit, making it challenging for youth and community members to participate in activities after sundown," said Robert Castaneda, Beyond the Ball Executive Director and Co-Founder. "Today, we are thrilled to see the community uniting to celebrate the activation of the newly renovated basketball courts. This is a great example of how public and private partnerships can work to build and restore community confidence around safety in public spaces."
BTB is a sport and play-based youth development organization in Little Village that fosters community development through the activation and maintenance of public spaces.
About HRP Group: HRP Group (www.hrpgroup.com) is a vertically integrated, multi-strategy real estate investment company specializing in the transformation of obsolete industrial sites into modern logistics infrastructure, mixed-use destinations, and pioneering innovation hubs. The firm takes a holistic approach to value creation that prioritizes community, environmental, and economic sustainability.
About Beyond the Ball (BTB): The mission of Beyond the Ball (beyondtheball.org) is to leverage the power of sport and play to reclaim space, unite the community, and create a culture of opportunity through which we cultivate hope and change lives.
SOURCE HRP Group
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