The Trent Tucker Non-Profit Organization was established as a way for former Gopher and NBA player, Trent Tucker, to give back to his community. Trent is a strong believer in community partnership, working together to provide a better environment for our children and families.

Trent started the first celebrity golf tournament of its kind in Minneapolis in 1998. The fundraiser’s featured guest, Michael Jordan, has returned each year along with a host of Trent’s other NBA friends. Over the past ten years, the Trent Tucker Celebrity Golf Tournament has grown into a premier event in Minneapolis drawing in celebrity athletes and entertainers from across the nation. With the help of everyone involved, this event has raised over $1,000,000 for local charities and the Trent Tucker Youth Program.

But Trent didn’t stop there. In 2001, after researching the needs of the community, he started the Trent Tucker Youth Program. He found the most need to be in after school programming for middle school students, who are at a critical stage in life where they can easily veer off course. The Trent Tucker Youth Program helps inner city middle school students to develop their character and leadership skills, provides career and educational opportunities, and promotes students to take positive risks. This unique program has also partnered with corporate sponsors, General Mills and Campbell Mithun, to provide one-on-one tutoring and mentoring with employees of the company. Trent’s hope for each student is to have the opportunity to realize their fullest potential.

In 2009 middle-school students in grades 6 and 7 at W.I.S.E Charter School completed a 20-week program in conjunction with the University of Minnesota’s Office of Senior Vice President for System Academic Administration and CLA Connections (College of Liberal Arts K-12 Outreach Program).

The program promotes early college awareness, enhances the knowledge of core subject areas (meeting the Minnesota Department of Education state standards), and assists students with homework assignments. Students are exposed to the University of Minnesota campus, university staff, faculty and students, who offer mentoring and academic assistance.