Rishan Patel honored with Billie Jean King Youth Leadership award

Sixteen-year old Rishan Patel of Atherton was one of three teens honored with a Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award at the ESPYs last night. The Award celebrates and honors young people who are using the power of sport as a catalyst for change and making a positive impact on society.

Rishan is the founder and CEO of the sports equity nonprofit, AlleyOop Kids, and its legacy project Lending Lockers. He started the Lending Lockers, which installs lockers filled with sports equipment at under-resourced schools. In just 10 months, Lending Lockers have been installed at more than 65 schools, serving over 50,000 youth in his community.

Patel has also empowered Locker Captains, who are fellow students that are equally passionate about sports equity and they manage inventory and gear drives for their locker. The project has expanded to assisted living facilities for neurodiverse young adults and he recently partnered with EmpowerHER in India to provide lockers to dozens of all-girls schools.