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Lonnie Porter, longtime Men's Head Basketball Coach at Regis University, established the Lonnie Porter Summer Academy in 1996 as a two-week program to provide academic and leadership training to at-risk inner city students from Denver. In 2003, it was renamed the Lonnie Porter Leadership Academy and evolved into a year long program with over 100 youth. This year, NBA All-Star and Denver native Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Pistons joined forces with Lonnie Porter to provide this academic and leadership training to Denver area inner city kids. Now known as the Porter-Billups Leadership Academy, Billups' participation will help to endow the program to ensure its long-term viability. By helping students develop the skills and aspiration to attend college, Coach Porter hopes to break cycles of poverty with the opportunities a college education affords. Both Coach Porter and Chauncey Billups grew up in inner city neighborhoods. They credit their success to the people who challenged them at a young age to work hard and get an education. The Academy is a way for both men to do for low-income youth what others did for them.

"Thank you for your gift to the Porter-Billups Leadership Academy Special Events Fund. Your generosity makes a major impact on Regis, bolstering the University's commitment to empowering youth from Denver's diverse, urban communities."

Michael J. Sheeran, S. J.
President
Regis University