2023 Beat the Streets Annual Report

2023

ANNUAL REPORT

BEAT THE STREETS NYC WRESTLING

OUR MISSION

Beat the Streets Wrestling, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop the full human and athletic potential of the urban youth and strengthen New York City’s wrestling culture.

We aim to make a lifelong impact through the lessons learned on the wrestling mat — discipline, perseverance, self-reliance, humility and a strong work ethic.

Since being founded in 2005, Beat the Streets has pioneered a movement that includes 150 individual wrestling programs, a youth league and the first-ever girls high school league.

Beat the Streets is an accredited member of Beat the Streets National, which includes 10 chapters in cities across the United States.

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LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

DEAR FRIENDS,

I

am honored to share our 2023 Annual Report with you. What you see in these pages is made possible by our supporters, like you, who share our commitment to using the sport of wrestling as a vehicle for positively altering the life trajectory of thousands of underserved boys and girls in New York City.

In the coming pages, we will showcase our program model and the lifelong impact it has on the student-athletes we serve. We saw an incredible jump in Junior League participation, NYC’s only middle school wrestling league, with 200-plus student-athletes joining our program and 12 middle schools creating wrestling teams. Our Training Center wrestling practices also saw 2,000-plus more check-ins from student-athletes in our programs compared to 2022. The Beat the Streets Academy program had a 40% year-over-year increase in participation. Seven high school seniors in the Academy achieved their goal of wrestling in college, including Sulayman Bah, whose journey to Columbia University is featured in this report.

At Beat the Streets, we take great pride in hosting a dynamic wrestling event for our Annual Benefit. Not only is this an incredible fundraiser for our organization, but it also gives us a big platform to highlight our mission and student-athletes on a big stage. We made history with this year’s event by hosting the USA Wrestling’s World Team Trials event, Final X, where for the first time all 30 weight classes in each Olympic discipline were contested at the same location. The wrestling community and our generous donors showed out with a record-breaking 8,000-plus fans at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, to help us raise $1.3 million for our programs.

I am happy to share with you our organization’s progress, and how you can help with our next step to grow and impact NYC boys and girls more than ever before with a permanent Training Center location in Midtown Manhattan.

This report displays the vital work we do to empower NYC children and eliminate socioeconomic barriers of entry for all children to participate in the sport of wrestling. Your contributions – whether they be donations, advocating for our mission, sharing news about Beat the Streets – are instrumental to the work we do.

Thank you for your continued support of Beat the Streets, and the youth we serve.

With Gratitude,

Brendan Buckley Executive Director

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OUR COMMUNITY

OUMAR TOUNKARA I BRONX

BOROUGH 32%

Bronx

20%

Manhattan

23%

Queens

18%

Brooklyn

4%

Staten Island

3%

Other

Beat the Streets helped me get a better education and environment, and helped me achieve a lot of things I couldn’t do without them.

SARI ORTIZ I QUEENS I love wrestling because it teaches me how to be a better person and a strong woman.

ETHNICITY

GENDER

78% Boys 22% Girls

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34%

Latinx

19%

Asian

18%

Black

15%

Caucasian

14%

Other

85%

Student-Athletes of color

PROGRAMS

Beat the Streets provides free-of-cost school-based and community-based programs through the sport of wrestling for New York City student-athletes.

JUNIOR LEAGUE The Junior League is New York City’s only elementary and middle school wrestling league.

In partnership with New York City’s Department of Education, the school-based program provides after-school weekly practice and competition opportunities focused on teaching basics of wrestling in a safe and fun environment.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS ATHLETIC LEAGUE

The Public Schools Athletic League promotes NYC public schools and Beat the Streets supports the PSAL through the sport of wrestling. Beat the Streets pays for tournament kits, travel competitions, camps and clinics, coaching education, wrestling mat distribution, mentorship opportunities and academic support for NYC high school student-athletes.

TRAINING CENTER The Training Center offers wrestling coaching, competition prep and support for NYC student-athletes at all levels of experience.

As a hub of the NYC scholastic wrestling community, the Training Center gives student-athletes the unique ability to train with those from across different schools across the city’s five boroughs.

JUNIOR LEAGUE PARTICIPATION 2021-22 Teams: 24 (16 fall, 6 winter) Participation: 200 (156 boys, 44 girls) 2022-23 Teams: 34 (24 fall, 10 winter) Participation: 444 (309 boys, 135 girls)

PSAL HIGH SCHOOL PARTICIPATION 2021-22 Boys: 1,223 Girls: 171 2022-23 Boys: 1,840 Girls: 331 *Girls also participated in boys season

TOTAL CHECK-INS

2021-22

3,286

2022-23

5,539

Growth Growth

2,253 2,253

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THE ACADEMY

The Academy program continued for a fifth straight year with 10 full-day leadership workshops, featuring discussions and guest speakers as well as wrestling technique clinics led by college coaches and former USA Wrestling national and World team members. Student-athletes in the Academy program also received mentoring and tutoring opportunities, and college scholarships.

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING

Beat the Streets measures the SEL growth of its student-athletes and has seen improvement in several core competencies.

Positive Identity

+78%

Positive self-worth and self-efficacy as they explore who they are Social Skills

+78%

Ability to take others’ perspectives into consideration, as well as express care and empathy

Hours of participation

Academic Self-Efficacy

+89%

Motivation and confidence in their academic performance

+100%

1,500 Hours of volunteerism

Students reported an increase in at least one SEL category

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships and make responsible decisions.

CAREER FAIR High school student-athletes networked and shared their career aspirations with professionals from various industries.

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8,000

7

Transitioned to college wrestling

7

College campus visits

B

ACHIEVEMENTS

eat the Streets studentathletes staked their claim on the wrestling mat not just in New York City, but on the state and national levels, too.

Earning an All-America honor with a top-eight placement at a national wrestling tournament is a prestigious accolade. Six student-athletes involved in Beat the Streets showcased their skills and determination to claim that honor.

Amir Avazov, Alessandra Elliott, Evin Gursoy and Xaiver Giles each took home the honor at the National High School Coaches Association High School Nationals. Gursoy took fifth in the sophomore division, while Giles was sixth and Avazov

STA

BTS ACADEMY STATE MEDALISTS Botensky Bauzile Devone Bogie Vakramogo Dosso Cameron Mayfield Christian Solano

eighth in the junior division at their weight classes. Elliott grabbed second in the girls division.

Giles also earned All-America honors with a second-place finish at the National Prep Championships. Oumar Tounkara took seventh and Sulayman Bah eighth for his second All-America status after taking second in 2021.

Closer to home, four BTS Academy student-athletes stood atop the podium at the NYC Mayor’s Cup Championship with the title of “Best in the City.”

Fourteen BTS Academy student-athletes (10 boys, four girls) claimed Public Schools Athletic League City Championships in folkstyle and freestyle. Botensky Bauzile, Devone Bogie, Vakramogo Dosso, Cameron Mayfield and Christian Solano earned medals with a top-eight finish at the New York High School Athletic Association Boys State Wrestling Championships. The five boys helped the PSAL take home a record eight state medals.

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HOMECOMING S

ulayman Bah grabbed a pen with his right hand and looked at the paper on the table in front of him.

Bah paused to take in the moment then wrote his signature on the paper, officially signing to wrestle at the NCAA Division I level for Columbia University.

To understand Bah’s journey to Columbia, you must first look some 3,000 miles away in Gambia.

Bah was born in the West African nation and lived there for the first four years of his life. His father, Dawda, moved to the United States to establish citizenship before the rest of the family crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Dawda sent money back home to Gambia while working and earning a bachelor’s degree in economics from the City University of New York. The Bah family then traveled to New York to start a new chapter together, and Dawda completed a master’s degree in public administration at Columbia University.

The Bah family settled in The Bronx, where Sulayman first found the sport of wrestling at his middle school, M.S. 129, which is part of the Beat the Streets Junior League. As

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Sulayman wrestled, he grew more confident and started to become more social by building new friendships.

Sulayman’s drive to improve stood out to Beat the Streets coaches, who saw him participate in weekly Training Center wrestling practices and one-on-one technique sessions. The extra work paid

off with him taking first place at the New York Youth State Championship.

Sulayman also committed to his academics by attending extra tutoring sessions on Saturdays, hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps as an Ivy League graduate. The additional commitment to excel in the classroom led Sulayman

to receive a full scholarship to The Kiski School, a private prep boarding school outside of Pittsburgh.

Despite the distance to New York, Sulayman committed to staying “If you come to plugged in Beat the Streets, with Beat the you’re going Streets. He to be bound remained for success on an active whatever level participant in you want to do, the Academy whether it’s program and academic or attended wrestling.” wrestling practices when he came back home during school breaks. “(Beat the Streets) got me tutors for school, SAT prep and I did life skills with them (through the Academy program),” he said.

Sulayman developed an interest in information technology, and with the help

of Beat the Streets landed a summer internship at Varonis Systems, a software security company. He credits his internship to reinforcing his desire to study computer science at Columbia.

Sulayman found plenty of success on the mat while at The Kiski School, becoming a junior National High School Coaches Association All-American (sixth place) and two-time National Prep All-American (second and eighth places).

Sulayman’s on-the-mat success combined with his academics, and desire to wrestle at an Ivy League school led him to Columbia. His familiarity with the program and university certainly didn’t hurt, either. He now serves as an example to current Beat the Streets student-athletes that they can wrestle at the NCAA Division 1 level and receive an

ACHIEVEMENTS New York Youth state champion Junior NHSCA All-American 2-time National Prep All-American Ivy League education.

“If you come to Beat the Streets, you’re going to be bound for success on whatever level you want to do,” he said.

“Whether it’s academic or wrestling.

“They have helped me so much. When I get older and whatever success I do achieve I’m always going to look back and give back to Beat the Streets. I’m just grateful for everything.”

A

sa high school freshman, Naomi Henry made a decision that changed the course of her life - joining the wrestling team. She then joined her teammates at Beat the Streets, and fell in love with the sport because of the great coaching, and friends she made.

Through her dedication and hardwork, Henry claimed city championships in freestyle and folkstyle wrestling. She

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HERSTORY also made a name for herself nationally by taking second place at the USA Wrestling Junior National Championships.

Henry joined the New Jersey City University women’s wrestling program for their inaugural season. She became the program’s first wrestler to claim All-America honors with an eighth-place finish at the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships.

Henry qualified for nationals the following season but fell short of the podium. Determined to get on the podium again, Henry committed more to training, and earned 10 more victories and a return trip to nationals. Henry would not be

denied and battled for a onepoint win to take seventh place and a podium spot in her final collegiate match.

Henry also thrived in the classroom, earning a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a minor in psychology in three years.

She plans to attend law school and become a family practice lawyer. As Henry embarks on her next journey, she will take with her the life lessons she learned from wrestling.

“It wasn’t until wrestling that I understood how tough I was,” she said. “Not only just physically, but mentally and the challenges that I am able to overcome are the results of me wrestling.”

F

GIVING BACK

or Jessica Kemgne, one word comes to mind when she thinks of Beat the Streets – fortunate. An immigrant from Cameroon, Kemgne joined BTS in high school and quickly formed positive relationships with coaches that she says helped her develop and become a better person.

“I was fortunate to have amazing coaches that were really there for me and really helped me grow and realize a lot of things about myself,” Kemgne said.

Kemgne, who is studying political science and French at Fordham University, is now following in those coaches’ footsteps as the BTS Junior

“There are so many coaches that have made the sport of wrestling enjoyable for me, and I am happy to now give back and make a difference!”

League Assistant Coach through the AmeriCorps VISTA program. In her role, she primarily coaches K-8 student-athletes and assists with Training Center wrestling practices. Her main goal is to make wrestling fun like her coaches did for her.

Kemgne was rewarded for her efforts by receiving the inaugural Beat the Streets National Full Circle Scholarship Award at the second annual Beat the Streets National

Camp and Duals. The $1,000 scholarship is given to BTS alumni who give back to their BTS chapter as a coach, mentor or intern, and exhibit characteristics that embody BTS. Kemgne and alumni from BTS chapters across the country received the scholarship.

“I am honored to receive this scholarship,” Kemgne said. I am grateful for all the resources and opportunities Beat the Streets has provided me throughout the years. There are so many coaches that have made the sport of wrestling enjoyable for me, and I am happy to now give back and make a difference!”

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B

ANNUAL BENEFIT

eat the Streets raised $1.3 million for its programs by hosting Final X, USA Wrestling’s Senior World Championship Team Trials, for its Annual Benefit at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

For a second straight year, Final X served as the Beat the Streets Annual Benefit. Previous editions of the Final X event were split between multiple venues, but this year Beat the Streets and USA Wrestling partnered together to host all 30 Olympic-style wrestling weight classes in one

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location for the first time.

The event helped Beat the Streets raise a record amount of funds with its 14th Annual Benefit event with an attendance record of more than 8,000 spectators.

“Moving our benefit to Prudential Center was a big factor in making this our largest event, with $1.3 million raised,” Beat the Streets Executive Director Brendan Buckley said. “The funds raised during this event enable our programs to operate year-round and continue to make a lifelong impact through wrestling on New York City student-athletes.”

Between sessions, Beat the Streets studentathletes competed

against their peers from Beat the Streets chapters across the country, wrestling on the same mats as some of the biggest names in USA Wrestling history.

Beat the Streets also recognized its studentathletes and coaches with its annual award presentation.

Twelve wrestlers (six each in men’s freestyle and women’s freestyle) that won a Final X bestof-three series to qualify to wrestle for Team USA claimed a medal at the 2023 Senior World Championships. Vito Arujau, Zain Retherford, David Taylor and Amit Elor were the four among the group to capture gold.

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T

OUR NEW HOME

o better serve the needs of the growing number of New York City student-athletes Beat the Streets serves, we will begin operating our first standalone facility in the fall of 2023. Located in Midtown Manhattan, this 7,300-square-foot facility will be conveniently close to major transportation at Penn Station and Herald Square, to provide ease of access for commuting student-athletes and coaches.

Since 2017, Beat the Streets has moved activities and programs from location to location throughout New York City. Now the thousands of boys and girls participating in Beat the Streets programs have a safe place to call home where they can access year-round support.

The innovative facility will be home to Beat the Streets administrative offices and positive youth development programming. In addition to hosting wrestling practices, the facility will also be home to Academy life skill workshops, academic support sessions, coach education seminars and our annual career fair.

With this centralized hub, we expect to grow our organization’s lifelong impact on 2,500-plus New York City student-athletes in need.

To continue scaling our youth development model and executing our goals, $600,000 in revenue is required over the next three years for us to operate from this wonderful facility. A future filled with our students as inspiring leaders depends on financial investments today to set them up on the winning path.

We hope you will join us in becoming a facility partner as we build together toward a better future for NYC youth with our new home.

TRAINING CENTER TIMELINE

2017 Numberous NYC public schools 2019 Roosevelt Island middle school

2008 Church of St. Anthony of Padua

2018 Columbia University

Fall 2023 Midtown Manhattan

Sincerely yours,

BECOME A FACILITY SPONSOR Brendan Buckley Executive Director

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To learn more about the various ways you can become a facility sponsor, email info@btsny.org.

FINANCIALS 2023

2022

2021

Contributions and Grants

$559,063

$579,776

$708,597

Program Services Fees

$77,500

$67,975

SUPPORT AND REVENUE

Donated Goods and Services

$28,000

Special Events (Net)

$654,108

$518,687

$444,883

Other Income

$15,840

$6,572

$33,508

TOTAL SUPPORT AND REVENUE

$1,346,511

$1,173,010

$1,214,988

$729,570

$628,684

$328,308

Management and General

$610,359

$632,452

$497,498

Fundraising

$312,007

$265,705

$215,337

TOTAL EXPENSES

$1,651,936

$1,526,841

$1,041,143

Change in Net Assets

($305,425)

($252,244)

$313,039

Beginning Net Assets

$498,632

$750,876

$437,837

ENDING NET ASSETS

$193,207

$498,632

$750,876

EXPENSES Program Services Support Services:

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SUPPORTERS

The work Beat the Streets does would not be possible without the generosity of our foundational, corporate, and individual donors, who support our mission to empower New York City youth through amateur wrestling. Listed below are the names of those who gave from Sept. 1, 2022 to Aug. 31, 2023.

$50,000+

Corey Wright Goldman, Sachs & Co. Jersey Mike’s Subs Richard Tavoso Tony Bobulinski

$25,000 - $49,999 BTIG, LLC DLA Piper Fidelity Charitable New York Community Trust Pinkerton Foundation RBC Foundation United Parcel Service

$10,000 - $24,999

Alston Construction Andrew Barth Blavatnik Family Foundation Brad Beutter Clff Keen Athletic Community Foundation of New Jersey Gary Sagui Heidecorn Family Foundation, Inc. James & Amy Bennett Foundation Jamie Brodsky Joe Tansey John Moon Kyra Tirana Barry MKM Holdings, LLC Molina Healthcare, Inc.

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Schwab Charitable Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP The Hyde and Watson Foundation The Patrina Foundation United Parcel Service Foundation USA Wrestling Varnois Systems, Inc.

$5,000 - $9,999

Arena Club Briggs Services Christopher Lindsey CohnReznick Deborah Heidecorn Emanuel Hilario Emilio Collins Eric Knight Friedman Family Foundation James Ritman John Ripley JP Morgan Chase Justin Hamill Kayla George Kroll Matthew Esposito Michael & Regina Shaffer Michael Barry Neil Chriss Otterbourg P.C. SEI Investments Steve Colbert American Dream Fund of Coastal

Community of SC Steven Shoemate The Eisner Foundation The One Group, LLC Tim Reusing Trudie Styler Vinson & Elkins LLP Yoshi Nakamura

$1,000-$1,999

Aidan Conroy Andrew Leonard Andrew Rosen Azmi Mikati Brian Weinstein Bryan Leach Carlos Ortega Charles Salzman $2,000 - $4,999 Christopher Chaisson Alberto Ebanks Clifford Chapman American Online Give Clint Matter Foundation David & Jamie Andrew & Jennifer Meredith Fleiss David Crisanti Catherine and Michael David Rios Deehan Dean Colucci Chris Placca Elio Alfonso Christopher Lenzi Eric Anderson Denis Ryan Eric Palmer Duane Morris LLP Irwin Winkler Dustin Tillman Jack Gucker Empire BlueCross Jennifer Rogers BlueShield HealthPlus Henry E. Niles Foundation Jim Hennessey Joey Jackson Law, PPLC John C. Morris John Mosler John Stephenson John Orr Joseph Schneider Jon A. Beck Lara Price Jude Arena Raul Negron Julian Harper Raymond Aab Kaity Warner Scott Feinstein Karen Gordon Shawn Rubin Kelly Jacoutot Tom Evans Kerry Chandler UJA Federation of NY L Catterton William Hunter Laurence S. Hughes Winsupply of Elmsford

Madison Square Garden Marc J. Santone Matt Palmer Matthew Button Mike J. Harp Mitchell Regenstreif Patrick DiCerbo Paul Nolan Ricardo Salmon Richard Gilston Richard Ginsburg Robert Grogan Ronald Damiano Scott & Julie McLaughlin Stephen Sadove Steve Umlauf Sue Ballard Tisbest Tyler Grimaldi William Brasser

$500-$999

Adam Sattler Andrew Darrell Andrew Taub Anthony Mack Brandon Snow Carl Forsythe Chris Henrich

Craig Watchmaker Deuly Espinal Frank Grimaldi Greg Karcich Jay Takefman Jeffrey R. Waters Jennifer Mascarenhas Jim Ward

John Cichon John Desmarais Kate Day Kevin Beinhacker Lewis Fischbein Lisa Collier Logan Lowe Mark Foresi Nina Collins Oleg Pshenitsyn Philip Foster Renee Hill Richard Ledee Richard LeFurgy Salvatore Lentini Sandra Schubert Stephen Pred Thomas Dutton Truist Wells Fargo Wealth Management

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PARTNERS

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BOARD, LEADERSHIP COUNCIL AND STAFF BOARD OF DIRECTORS David Heidecorn L Catterton BTS Chairman Emilio Collins Excel Sports Management BTS Vice Chairman Dean Colucci Duane Morris LLP BTS Secretary Corey Wright Cahill Gordon & Reindell LLP BTS Treasurer

Jamie Brodsky Breakwall Capital

Yoshi Nakamura NAKA Capital Partners

Alberto Ebanks Ebanks Law Firm

Matt Palmer BNP Paribas

Scott Feinstein 42West

Chris Placca The Blackstone Group

Kelly Jacoutot Douglas Elliman Real Estate

Frank Ryan DLA Piper

Chris Henrich RBC Capital Markets

Natalia Tovar Bocce’s Bakery

Chris Lindsey Jane Street

LEADERSHIP COUNCIL Sue Ballard Wells Fargo

Kevin Collins Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Ken Bigley Public Schools Athletic League

Rick Gilston Gilston Electric

Kevin Beinhacker United Parcel Service

Tyler Grimaldi Citi

Jayson Bowlsby Apollo Global Management LLC

Michael Piccirillo Citi

STAFF Brendan Buckley Executive Director John Rollins Senior Director of Operations and Finance Debbie Linehan Director of Fund Development

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Anthony Rinella Morgan Stanley David Rios Columbia University Dorothy Ruderman Verition Fund Management

Bob Seidel Director of Programming

Becka Leathers Head Girls Coach

Brandon Cain Communications Manager

Narankhuu Ganbaatar Junior League Manager

Joe DeAngelo Head Boys Coach

MAKE A LIFELONG IMPACT VOLUNTEER

Our volunteers are the unsung heroes at Beat the Streets.

DONATE

You will provide New York City youth with the resources and tools they need to succeed - on and off the wrestling mat.

SPONSOR BTS ACADEMY PROGRAM

Want to alter the life trajectory of Beat the Streets student-athletes? Provide them with the chance to attend life skill workshops, receive academic support and more with the BTS Academy program.

BECOME A CORPORATE PARTNER

We will work with you to determine the best opportunity for your company, whether it is hosting a workshop, sponsoring one of our events or Training Center facility, being a mentor or providing an internship opportunity.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

We’re on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter. @beatthestreets. You will be the first to receive updates on the incredible work Beat the Streets does.

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BEAT THE STREETS NYC WRESTLING 470 FASHION AVE. RM. 400 NEW YORK, NY 10018 212-777-5702 BTSNY.ORG