New Social Workers (NSW), an innovative 501c3 non-profit organization, was formed in 1987 to provide positive, life improvement recreational activities for youth and adults. Founded by native New Yorker Kenn Hicks, the organization grew out of a Venice Beach Pro-AM Tournament held in 1979. Kenn Hicks, a prominent social worker and nationally recognized expert on violence prevention, brought street ball to the West Coast. Today he is known from one coast to the other as the “Godfather of Streetball.”
In 2007, Kenn Hicks started the Ballin’ for Peace Tour. Soon after his son Ryan Hicks, picked up the reigns and reenergized the program. Over the past four years, this award-winning father-son team has expanded the original concept of Ballin’ for Peace to include not only recreational activities for low-income youth, but also celebrity sponsorship and life skills development training. Today, we sponsor education on violence prevention, crime prevention, educational grants and scholarships for higher education, job seeking, job training, healthcare, and other key issues affecting the quality of life for individuals and communities. We partner with organizations based in major cities in the United States and abroad to bring culturally relevant programs to communities in specific geographical regions.
Several major events to be held outside of southern California are already in the planning stages. For information on how you can partner with Ballin’ for Peace to co-sponsor a project with us in Los Angeles or another area, please contact Mr. Ryan Hicks at 818-256-9306.
