The 6-4-3 Foundation Awards Grant to L.E.A.D. Center for Youth

January 24, 20250

Pictured above are Executive Director of The 6-4-3 Foundation Mary Litman and L.E.A.D. Director of Tennis Mackenzi Stewart.

(Marietta, GA) The 6-4-3 Foundation has awarded $20,000 in grants to three Atlanta area organizations and a fourth in Hurricane Helene ravaged North Carolina. “The 2024 year was a very good one for The 6-4-3 Foundation and its staff.  Great donor support, improved operations, and positive momentum drove the foundation to a position where it could direct year-end impact grants. With our focus on growing measurable impact helping children and families in need, it is a privilege to support the Breakthru House, L.E.A.D., The Dave Krache Foundation, and Owen Babe Ruth and their respective missions in 2024,” said board chair David Carr.

The Board of Directors chose to support the L.E.A.D. Center for Youth in Atlanta for the second year in a row. Founded in 2007 and run by CJ and Kelli Stewart, L.E.A.D. focuses on empowering an at-risk generation to lead and transform their city of Atlanta by using the sports of baseball and tennis to teach Black youth how to overcome three curveballs that threaten their success: crime, poverty and racism. The foundation’s $1500 gift will support their new Lady Ambassador program.

L.E.A.D. – which stands for Launch, Expose, Advise, Direct – provides year-round, direct service programming through its Ambassador Program for up to 250 Black youth in grades 3 – 12 from socio-economically challenged households in Atlanta and surrounding areas. Programming, which consists of activities across four focus areas: academics, athletics, civic engagement and commerce, is delivered in a framework that preserves the student-athlete’s racial, linguistic and cultural identity. By using the theories embodied in sports based youth development, L.E.A.D. Coaches empower their youth to lead productive and significant lives on and off the field and court.

In its second year, L.E.A.D.’s Lady Ambassador program boasts 85 participants. Headed up by Director of Tennis Mackenzi Stewart, the Lady Ambassador program serves Black girls from Atlanta Public Schools as well as surrounding areas through a partnership with Universal Tennis Academy (UTA). Stewart joined L.E.A.D. after completing five years of collegiate Division 1 tennis. When Stewart first starting playing tennis, she noticed there were not a lot of girls who looked like her when she played in tournaments. “Growing up, I had a love-hate relationship with tennis. I enjoyed playing and competing, but it was so lonely for me because I was usually the only Black girl at my tennis academies and tournaments.” Stewart said. “It wasn’t until I found a community of other Black girls within the sport that tennis became fun for me and my development sky-rocketed.”

L.E.A.D., at its core, believes that each young person should have the opportunity to be successful and that “young people learn to lead by leading and understand their value by being valued.” It is with this perspective that the Stewarts teach that tennis and baseball are springboards to education, civic engagement and service to one’s community. “We’re steadily expanding the Lady Ambassador tennis program, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to coach, mentor, and empower the next generation of competitive tennis players and transformative leaders,” remarked Mackenzi Stewart.

To learn more about L.E.A.D., go to their website www.leadcenterforyouth.org.

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