The Loneliest Corner on Earth — 20 Years of Street 2 Street

The gloom that fell on me … I cannot even begin to describe it to you. I felt as a prophet of old, with a message no one wanted to hear. Ignored. Despised. An outsider.

No one will listen.

I don’t belong.

They don’t care.

I’m wasting my life.

The loneliest place on earth, for me, was a street corner in New York. It was October of 2002. I was a guy from rural Georgia desperate to find my footing in the Big Apple. For nearly three years, I tried all sorts of things to reach high schoolers—visited schools, offered to volunteer, worked every angle I knew to connect and engage—all to no avail. I had a burden, but no strategy. And finally, standing on a street corner in Brooklyn, among millions of people, forlorn and nearly broken.

But hope was reborn with an idea, a vision, and friends who believed in it. I was getting to know a few guys on Wall Street—men of influence and success. In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, they were asking, "What really matters?" They didn’t want to just invest in the market. They wanted to invest in meaning.

So in August 2005, we hosted a basketball tournament in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. 128 kids showed up. We brought coaches, volunteers, jerseys, and a message of hope. The kids played, and talked, and they welcomed me into their world. They counted me as a friend. That court—perched on a hill overlooking an open sky where the Twin Towers once stood—became something sacred. That day, something bigger than basketball was born.

We weren’t trying to build an organization. We were just trying to reach kids.

But here we are. Twenty years later.

Still showing up. Still on the same subways. Still walking into the same neighborhoods. Still telling the next generation: You matter.

And the kids who once laced up for those early tournaments? They’re no longer kids, but still with us.

Clint, who helped run that very first event, is now our NYC Program Director. Danny Suriel, who played in that first tournament, is now our official photographer—shooting not just for us, but for nearly every professional sports team in New York. Nate Feliciano went from Street2Street player to coach, mentor, donor, and business leader. Even my daughter Allison, who watched that first game from the sidelines, now serves full-time on our team.

Those friends who supported us in the beginning still stand with us, and have been joined by others, including you. There are more kids to reach, and greater things are in store, I’m certain of it.

Thank you for giving, praying, serving, and standing with us.

We still believe that every kid, in every neighborhood, deserves the chance to Play, Belong, and Matter. And because of you, the story continues.