THIS STARTED WITH TWO BROTHERS
THR1VE started with Willie and Eric Bennett, two brothers who grew up playing hockey with the Fort Dupont Cannons in Washington, D.C., the oldest Black youth hockey program in North America. Growing up in a program that created opportunity in a sport where few people looked like them taught them early to think differently about access and what the right opportunity could make possible.
In the beginning, THR1VE was closely tied to hockey. That began to change when Fort Dupont Ice Arena was preparing to shut down and Willie received a call from their close friend Juvon, who had been part of THR1VE since the start. More than 2,000 pieces of hockey equipment were about to be thrown away.
Seeing that much usable equipment sitting there raised a much bigger question: if this could happen at one rink, how much sports equipment, school supplies, technology, and other useful resources are discarded every year while young people elsewhere go without them?
That was when they realized the problem was not always a lack of resources. Sometimes, it was a lack of connection between where those resources existed and where they
were needed most.
Our Story
THE RINK THAT MADE US THINK BIGGER
Fort Dupont Ice Arena was preparing to shut down when Willie received a call from their close friend Juvon, who had been part of THR1VE since the start. More than 2,000 pieces of hockey equipment were about to be thrown away.
At the time, Eric was playing hockey at Stevenson University. Seeing that much usable equipment sitting there raised a much bigger question: if this could happen at one rink, how much sports equipment, school supplies, technology, and other useful resources are discarded every year while young people elsewhere go without them?
That was when they realized the problem was not always a lack of resources. Sometimes, it was a lack of connection between where those resources existed and where they were needed most.
Our Story
THIS STARTED WITH TWO BROTHERS
THR1VE started with Willie and Eric Bennett, two brothers who grew up playing hockey with the Fort Dupont Cannons in Washington, D.C., the oldest Black youth hockey program in North America. Being part of a program that created opportunity in a sport where few people looked like them taught them early that meaningful change often starts with people willing to think differently and create their own path.
In the beginning, THR1VE was closely tied to the sport they knew. Willie and Eric wanted to find ways to create more opportunities for young people through hockey. But one moment at Fort Dupont Ice Arena would eventually push that idea far beyond the game.
THE MOMENT THE IDEA CHANGED
Fort Dupont Ice Arena was preparing to shut down when Willie received a call from their close friend Juvon, who had been part of THR1VE since the start. Juvon told him he needed to get to the rink because more than 2,000 pieces of hockey equipment were about to be thrown away.
At the time, Eric was playing hockey at Stevenson University. When they saw how much usable equipment was sitting there, it was hard to understand how all of it could simply become waste. Somewhere else, a young player could have needed the exact skates, sticks, gloves, pads, or bags that were about to be discarded.
That moment made them think much bigger. If this could happen at one rink, how much sports equipment, school supplies, technology, and other useful resources are thrown away every year while young people in other places go without them?
That was when they realized the problem was not always a lack of resources. Sometimes, it was a lack of connection between where those resources existed and where they were needed most.
That idea became part of the foundation of THR1VE.
When The Story Changed
In 2023, Eric passed away at just 21 years old. For Willie, continuing THR1VE suddenly meant carrying forward something they had imagined together without the person who had helped shape it from the beginning. For a time, it was difficult to know what the future of the idea was supposed to look like.
Eventually, the answer became clearer. THR1VE did not have to remain exactly what it had been. The mission could grow beyond hockey while still carrying the same belief
that started it all:
Too much potential is lost not because it was never there, but because the right opportunity never reached it.
Then Came El Salvador
In 2024, a trip to El Salvador gave that evolving vision a place to become real. Willie and his mother were invited by close family friends and left with a desire to return, build deeper relationships, and find meaningful ways to contribute.
For Willie, the trip also came during one of the hardest periods of his life. El Salvador gave him something he had not expected to find there: hope, perspective, and a reason to start looking forward again.
That experience helped shape THR1VE into what it is today. What began with hockey and a question about wasted resources has grown into a broader mission focused on connecting people, resources, skills, and opportunities with communities where they can create real value.
THR1VE works across sports, education, technology, entrepreneurship, and community development, but the goal remains simple: help close the distance between potential and access.
That means listening before acting, working with people already doing the work, and building around what a community actually needs. Sometimes that may mean equipment or school supplies. Sometimes it may mean technology, mentorship, improved spaces, new experiences, or a connection that opens a door that did not exist before.
THR1VE is not built around the idea of showing up once and calling it impact. It is about creating relationships, building momentum, and helping more opportunities reach people who already have the talent, ambition, and drive to do something with them.
