In honor of Steve, for 10 years, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
and the Sport Philanthropy Project created the
Steve Patterson Sports Philanthropy Award to honor Steve's life work.
Celebrating 10 years of the Steve Patterson Award for Excellence in Sports Philanthropy
Steve taught us not to wait for excellence to reveal itself, but to seek it out and inspire it in the hearts and souls of others.
To him, that was the essence of coaching. We offered this award to celebrate Steve's life and to continue his legacy.
- The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
"Quite appropriate that an award of this type, one that represents
someone committed to giving, be named after Steve Patterson,
who truly spent his life giving. When I think of Steve, the saying,
"You make a living by what you get and you make a life
by what you give" along with "You can give without loving but you can't love without giving," signify the man and the life
that Steve Patterson was committed to being in sports and in life."
-John Wooden
Steve and Carlette Patterson’s Playbook for Life and Sports Philanthropy,
Simple Words that We Strive to Live by… 1 Corinthians 13:4
The Plays of Life… it is all about the X’s and O’s…The X’s represent a Strategy for our Lives
The O’s represent a Strategy for our Sports Philanthropy Work
To be Successful in both we just have to know the Plays…
​
X Love is patient
O Be patient as you begin your Sports Philanthropy journey
X Love is kind
O Be kind to yourself on your journey for your kindness will be your gift
X It does not envy
O Do not let envy take you away from your mission
X It does not boast
O Your work will speak volumes; you will not need to boast
X It is not proud
O Be proud of your life work, not proud of yourself
X It is not rude
O Your heart will never be rude, but your ego can lead you astray
X It is not self-seeking
O This is about your life mission, seek to do your work and your self will follow
X It is not easily angered
O Keep your heart and soul connected to your mission and anger will not find a place to land
X It keeps no record of wrongs
O You won’t go wrong if your life record reflects the many lives you have changed
X Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth
O It is the truth that leads us to our life work and then we spend our days rejoicing
X It always protects
O Protect your life legacy; you have given your life for it
X Always trusts
O Trust your desire to change the world
X Always hopes
O Hope will give you the courage to make a difference, one day at a time
X Always perseveres
O Persevere, for only through persistence can you can fulfill your life mission
X Love never fails
O Love what you do each day and you won’t fail to make a difference
And now these three remain:
X Faith
O Without it the game is over
X Hope
O It is the thread that every generation weaves into the next
X And love
O It makes it all worthwhile
X But the greatest of these is love
O Give as much of it away as you can as you play this game of life and remember, through God all things are possible!
By Carlette Patterson
"Every person deserves their own journey."
-Carlette
Who has given you hope in life?
How did they do it and how did it change you?
The Legacy
2005
Philadelphia Eagles Youth Partnership
2006
Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation
2007
Memphis Grizzlies Charitable Foundation & The Moyer Foundation
2008
San Francisco Giants Community Fund and the Steve Nash Foundation
2009
The Marvin Lewis Community Fund and the Red Sox Foundation
2010
U.S. Soccer Foundation and the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation
2011
Cincinnati Reds Community Fund & Brian Griese and Judi's House
2012
Chicago White Sox Volunteer Corps, Notah Begay III Foundation, and the Women's Sports Foundation
2013
San Francisco 49ers Foundation, The Tony Hawk Foundation, and the LA84 Foundation
2014
Harlem RBI, Tiger Woods Foundation, and the Jays Care Foundation
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Beginning in 2015, in the spirit of expanding the mission of the Steve Patterson Award for Excellence in Sports Philanthropy, Patterson Sports Ventures created the Sports Philanthropy League© (SPL), dedicated to being Champions for Change. The SPL mission is to G.I.V.E.H.O.P.E. (Get Involved. Volunteer. Educate. Help Other People Excel) by funding H.O.P.E. Scholarships to the Life Training Academy. The Academy is training the next generation to be Champions for Change and to G.I.V.E.H.O.P.E. to future generations.
Thank you Coach for giving Steve hope
Aug. 28, 2004- One month after Steve died, Coach giving our family hope
Makena Patterson meeting Coach