About Us
In 1991, with the overwhelming support of many, including tennis great Arthur Ashe, the Peter Westbrook Foundation was launched by the legendary Peter Westbrook—winner of the Bronze Medal in Men’s Sabre event at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Long considered the “chess of sports,” Peter recognized fencing’s potential as a vehicle for developing life skills in inner-city youth as a result of having experienced its transformative effects in his own life while growing up in the projects of Newark, NJ.
Erinn and Keeth Smart (2008 Olympic Silver medalists) were among the first students to enroll in the Saturday Program. While the equipment was donated and mostly used, the enthusiasm and gratitude felt by the students was obvious. Since then, over 2,000 inner-city kids have enrolled in this not-for-profit community program.
In 1996, the Academic Enrichment Program was launched in order to provide PWF students with academic support, mentoring and test preparation.
By participating in the Foundation’s programs, kids not only learn how to be good winners and losers, but also how their actions directly influence the results they achieve. They learn to evaluate their attitudes about themselves and others, overcome fears, think strategically and solve problems.
“My mother paid me to come here the first time because she wanted to keep me out of trouble. I was hanging with the guys in the hood, gangs and stuff. Then one of my friends, a Blood, got shot in the head. Mom also knew that I was failing out of high school; the only class I passed was lunch. I made the honor roll for the first time in my entire life a year after starting PWF.”
—PWF Alumnus
In 2009, the PWF opened its tutorial center, where students can meet with their tutors immediately after the Saturday Program.
Over the last several years, members of PWF’s Elite Fencing Squad have qualified for three Olympic teams, countless senior and junior world teams, and have attended and graduated from some of the finest universities in the U.S., including: Duke, Columbia, NYU, St. Johns, Rutgers, Ohio State and Temple.
