Winter Garden nonprofit Global Not Local recognized by Mayor Jerry L. Demings

When Wendell Coates founded nonprofit Global Not Local Cares, his intentions were clear: He wanted to empower the underserved youth and families of his community — east Winter Garden — by providing access to mentorship, education, financial literacy and career training, to break cycles of poverty and open doors to new opportunities through the channel of sports. 

“I decided to start the nonprofit specifically because of the lack of opportunity that I noticed our kids were receiving on my side of town,” Coates said. “To play AAU sports, you have to have funding — and it’s a lot of funding — and you have to have talent. We have a lot of talent in our community, but we lack funding or parental support to give our youth the opportunities their talent deserves. I wanted to create something that was cost-efficient to make sure our kids had an opportunity to show off their talents; that’s where all of this started. These days, we’ve been able to receive the support and sponsorships we need to make sure that even if our kids are lacking the resources, they still can get the opportunity they deserve.”

Despite its local beginnings, as the nonprofit’s name implies, Global Not Local had plans to cast a larger net and make an impact on a wider set of communities. Today, that is exactly what Coates and his organization are doing, as Global Not Local not only is serving the West Orange County area but also all of Orange County and even crossing state lines and establishing a youth basketball team in Georgia. 

The organization’s expansion and impact on these underserved communities caught the attention of local officials, specifically Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings. After hosting a free youth basketball camp recently, Global Not Local received a letter of recognition from Demings.

“It is my distinct pleasure to extend this letter of recognition to Global Not Local Cares Inc. for its contribution and support to underserved communities in Orange County,” Demings wrote. “I want to commend your organization for your ongoing outreach, education and mentorship programs — which have significantly impacted our youth. I applaud you for the countless educational initiatives and professional training you have provided to our community over the years. Your dedication to our youth is commendable. I hope you continue to equip them with the necessary tools, resources and opportunities to achieve success, promote self-sufficiency, and foster leadership development. On behalf of the 1.5 million people who call Orange County home, thank you for your efforts to empower and uplift our youth to achieve their fullest potential.”

Coates was excited to receive the recognition from the mayor, but what really put a smile on his face was when he reflected on his own experience and how much this organization has made a positive impact on kids who are growing up in similar situations he did. 

“Honestly, what this has become is a dream come true,” Coates said. “It’s something that I never was able to experience as a kid, and now I have a son who plays for one of our teams. That’s amazing to me. Everything that we’ve built is something that I felt like we could accomplish, but I knew that I had to take it step by step and get the proper support. But honestly, now that I see it come true, it’s grown into something that I never could have imagined, so I’m just very excited to be able to see these kids get that opportunity — especially those (who) come from our area.”

As Global Not Local continues to expand its reach, Coates’ vision isn’t just to reach more communities through their outreach efforts, he wants to take empowering the youth to another level.

“As I’ve considered my vision for the organization and learned about the private school sector through a new opportunity I’ve had recently to serve as a director at a local school, I’ve learned a lot about the benefits of this education model,” he said. “The public school setting is not for everybody, and I’ve seen students come into our school and learn better in our smaller class settings, so this experience has really shown me that creating an academy to merge my educational experience with our athletic and personal development programs is my vision. To have Global Not Local Academy become a reality over the next few years … that’s what I’m aiming toward. If that can come true, it would be incredible. I’m working closely with the city to try to make this thing come true.”

As the nonprofit continues to grow, Coates always is going to make sure he’s serving his community of east Winter Garden. Global Not Local will host a free youth basketball clinic in Winter Garden for 200 boys and girls from ages 7 to 18, Saturday, June 21. The clinic will provide food and a T-shirt to campers, and along with developing skills on the court, campers will also hear from NBA players.

Registration for the upcoming clinic will open a couple of weeks before the camp. To stay up to date with the event and the organization, visit globalnotlocal.org and follow the nonprofit on social media.