ABOUT SBNP
Using basketball to change and save lives.
Basketball is our trusted engagement point. Whole-child development is the intervention. Leadership and community reinvestment are the destination.
Who we are
OUR MISSION
To use basketball as a vehicle to change and save lives.
OUR VISION
A generation of emotionally resilient, socially aware young people who choose community over conflict.
OUR VALUES
Community first
Community has the power to heal, support and transform lives. Every decision puts its needs first.
Youth empowerment
Young people aren't just our future. They're our present, and they deserve the tools and support to succeed.
Positive change
Lasting change that gets to the root of the problem and builds stronger neighborhoods.
Integrity
Transparent, honest and accountable in everything we do. We earn trust through action.
Our story
In 2010, in Germantown, Garry Mills put a basketball in the hands of neighborhood kids and made a simple bet: young people will show up for a court they trust, and once they do, everything else becomes possible.
Sixteen years later, SBNP serves young people across Philadelphia, with deep roots in Germantown, Nicetown, Mt. Airy and, since 2025, Cobbs Creek. Our programs meet kids where they already are:
- Courts Over Corners: upstream basketball programming that gives young people a safe, structured alternative to the street.
- D-Up Future Stars Summer League: competitive play with mentors on the sideline.
- Uptown Basketball Academy (AAU): high-level training and travel opportunities.
- Rise Up Summer Camp: skills, wellness and leadership every summer.
We work upstream: build trust through basketball, then connect young people to wellness, mentoring, education and leadership before a crisis ever begins.
THE DOCUMENTARY · EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ALLEN IVERSON
Bad Things Happen in Philadelphia
How gun violence touches young men, women and mothers in Philadelphia. In 2021, the city's hardest year on record, more than 500 people lost their lives to violence. For Garry, even one more child hurt is one too many.
- 2026 KYW Newsradio Game Changer
- Lincoln High School 30-Year All-Time Team
- Sixers "Heroes Among Us" Award
- Philadelphia Business Journal 40 Under 40
- Congressional Recognition, Golden Heart Award
Garry Mills
Founder & Executive Director
Garry made his name on Philadelphia's courts as a member of Lincoln High School's 30-Year All-Time Team, First Team All-Public, and All-City Honorable Mention. Off the court, he's been recognized as a KYW Newsradio Game Changer (2026), a Black Wharton Undergraduate Association Community Award recipient (2024), and a We The People Changemaker Own It honoree (2023), and he received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for the Golden Heart Award (2022). Earlier honors include the Sixers' "Heroes Among Us" Award, Wells Fargo Community Leader, Philadelphia Business Journal's Top 40 Entrepreneurs Under 40, and Black Enterprise's "Be Modern" Man.
As featured in the documentary Bad Things Happen in Philadelphia, Garry works upstream, building trust through basketball and connecting young people to wellness, mentoring, education and leadership before a crisis begins.
Watch Bad Things Happen in Philadelphia on Prime Video →Board of directors
Join us
Every young person who walks onto our courts has a team behind them. Be part of it.