Celebrating Summer 2025’s Growth & our record-breaking 2025-26 Fall season

The Summer 2025 season was a milestone moment for the CJ Brown Foundation as our programs expanded across multiple Chicago neighborhoods, deepened community partnerships, and welcomed more players and families than ever before. With a commitment to belonging, accountability, and pride, our summer programs created meaningful experiences for young athletes while strengthening the foundation of community-based soccer on Chicago’s South and West Sides.

Program Growth Across Chicago

This summer marked one of our strongest periods of growth to date, driven by the dedication of our coaches, the energy of our players, and the trust of our community partners. Each site contributed uniquely to the Foundation’s impact:

• Tuley Park (Chatham)

  Steady growth with increased returning families, showing strong confidence in our coaches and curriculum. The positive culture at Tuley Park continues to attract new players and sustain long-term engagement. Over 40 players participated in our Tuley Park Summer Camps, ensuring consistent year-round participation in Chatham.

• Bessemer Park (South Chicago)

  Our first full summer season at Bessemer Park brought a vibrant community turnout with over 60 players participating each week in camp. Players embraced the program quickly, and participation exceeded expectations, setting the stage for continued expansion on Chicago’s South Side.

• UCAN Chicago (North Lawndale)

  Our partnership with UCAN Chicago remains a model of trauma-informed, relationship-centered coaching. Together, we are creating a safe, stable, and supportive pathway for youth development, both on and off the field. Each week, 8-10 youths participated in a safe space where our Coaches led players through activities that were fun, positive, social, and competitive.

• Palmer Park (Roseland)

  These neighborhoods showed strong early engagement and promising participation numbers. As we strengthen our relationships with local families and community advisory leaders, these sites are poised for continued growth in future seasons!

By the Numbers

This summer’s impact is reflected in the strength of our community involvement and the positive momentum across our programs:

• Total Summer Players: 159

• Total Program Locations: 4

• Youth Coaches trained (ages 16-19, non-CJBF staff): 12

• Community Partners: 5 (UCAN Chicago, Chicago Park District, Go Grocers, Food Town, Chicago Fund)

  
  

  These numbers demonstrate not just growth, but the expanding reach of accessible, positive, community-based soccer programming in neighborhoods that need—and deserve—high-quality youth development opportunities.

A clear path forward for 2025-26 growth

The expansion of CJBF’s programming into new locations creates a clear path for 2025-26 growth and expansion of regular after-school and neighborhood programming. However, to take on these endeavors, we need your support! Donate below to support CJBF’s mission and its expansion of safe, positive, after-school programming via youth soccer. Please help us grow and remain connected to the communities and their players, while simultaneously allowing us to employ and support our coaches' training and professional development through consistent programming.

Donate here!