Stamford Peace Youth Foundation
Founded in 2008 by long-time Stamford resident and current Notre Dame-Fairfield High School Varisity basketball coach, Brian Kriftcher, and co-founded by Lenwood Latta, Stamford Peace is dedicated to the philosophy that “basketball is a privilege” – representing a reward for consistent effort and achievement in children’s core responsibilities in the classroom, in the community, and at home. PEACE's efforts are supported by two key pillars: PEACE Basketball, and our Beyond Limits Academic Program.
PEACE Basketball offers a first-rate basketball educational experience emphasizing the development of strong fundamentals and high quality competition, as well as establishing a culture of excellence among our players and in our overall approach to the game. Among our PEACE Basketball offerings are a boys' winter house basketball league; high-level boys' and girls' travel AAU basketball teams; summer and vacation day basketball camps; summer and fall outdoor leagues at Scalzi Park; year-round clinics and open gym activities; and individual training. Stamford Peace is built on a foundation consisting of teamwork, discipline, leadership, and sportsmanship. Rather than focusing exclusively on wins and losses, the goal of Stamford Peace includes using the game of basketball as a vehicle through which to positively influence academic achievement, community service, and other life skills within Stamford and other lower Fairfield County communities.
To that end, our Beyond Limits Academic Program, launched in 2013, employs a peer-to-peer approach in which local high school students provide one-on-one academic tutoring, primarily in math and science, to other local middle school and high school students, and fees are highly subsidized by Stamford Peace. In addition to regular tutoring, our Beyond Limits program conducts periodic workshops and other enrichment activities covering such topics as college planning, writing workshops, computer coding and more. Throughout each of these academic activities, we actively partner with parents, teachers and administrators as important shared advocated for our participants.