The LACOSTE Foundation's mission is to support young people over the long term, for their professional life project. Thanks to the means and concrete actions initiated in the sports context, they can flourish and be fulfilled both personally and professionally. The LACOSTE Foundation develops its own programs or supports non-profit organizations which act in favor of youth and sport.

The choices made by the Foundation relate to projects which enable the values ​​of sport to be cultivated: tenacity, surpassing oneself, esteem and respect for others, opening up to new socio-cultural universes and reflecting on their professional project. The Foundation voluntarily supports a limited number of associations over time, on average for more than three years, making sure to involve its commercial partners and its subsidiaries.

In 2016, the Foundation operates in 9 countries: Brazil, Canada, United States, France, Israel, Morocco, Uganda, Portugal and Tunisia. Since 2006, the LACOSTE Foundation has supported 40 partners in 22 countries: Afghanistan, Germany, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Spain, France, Haiti, India, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, Mexico, Uganda, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Thailand, Tunisia, USA and Vietnam.

The legacy of René Lacoste and Simone Thion de la Chaume

"Confidence, tenacity, perseverance, rigor: with such weapons, everyone can build their life". René Lacoste

The LACOSTE Foundation continues the commitment of René Lacoste, who strongly believed in the values ​​of sport as a lever for emancipation. By cultivating respect for the opponent, team spirit, motivation and surpassing oneself, the Foundation supports young people so that they can grow and surpass themselves.

René Lacoste and Simone Thion de la Chaume - Photo: DR Lacoste archives

Give young people a chance

René Lacoste has always strived to give a chance and often to personally follow many young people around him, especially on the Basque Coast where he lived for the last twenty years of his life.

The film

On the occasion of its 10th anniversary, the LACOSTE Foundation is launching a film which presents its actions in favor of the emancipation of young people through sport. A video which shows the course of children following the support programs and which gives an account of their evolution, ingenuity, ambition, curiosity as well as the values ​​which are transmitted to them, those defended by René Lacoste.

Made as a documentary, the archive images are mixed with life scenes and medleys of interviews. A story told by the actors of partner organizations.

Actions on the greens

It is to the wife of René Lacoste, Simone, that we owe the craze for this sport. 1927: Simone Thion de la Chaume, 18, becomes the first tricolor golfer to win the British Ladies, the most prestigious event on the international women's calendar. With the Foundation 4000 young people can each year have fun and improve their skills on the greens.

Birdies de modagor - Morocco

Les Birdies de Mogador is a Moroccan association which aims to initiate and develop the practice of golf with around 70 children aged 6 to 14 from disadvantaged backgrounds in the city of Essaouira. These children, depending on their sporting abilities but above all their involvement, benefit from weekly lessons and internships during the holidays. Beyond the sporting aspects, the association aims to allow young people to open up new professional perspectives in the golf industry (players, tourism, management, etc.). The LACOSTE Foundation, beyond the financial support provided since the creation of the association in 2012, also allows young Birdies to go for a day to the Hassan II Trophy during which meetings with professional players are organized.

Djerba Promotion Center - Tunisia

If golf is not traditionally popular in the United States or in France, it is even less so in Tunisia. However, the Djerba Golf promotion center, created in 2006, has set itself the objective of enabling young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the villages surrounding Djerba to access the world of golf.

26 children discover this new universe every year every Saturday and Sunday. The practice of golf also allows them to discover new horizons: courses during the holidays and competitions are indeed organized throughout the country thus allowing them to get out of their daily environment. Beyond the sporting aspect, the association also provides social support to young people who are having academic or family difficulties by helping them during tutoring sessions.

Cityparks Golf - USA

Turning city parks into golf courses: a dream for many New Yorkers that Cityparks Foundation, an American association, has decided to realize for the benefit of the most disadvantaged. For example, 3 young New Yorkers aged 500 to 6 play golf twice a week between April and October. The association also allows children to enjoy other cultural activities offered for 13 years in the 20 parks of the city (concerts, theater…).

The objective of this project is twofold: not only do children discover team spirit, motivation, self-confidence, patience and respect for others, but they can also acquire a level which will allow them to '' obtain scholarships to enter the largest American universities, sport occupying a very important place. The LACOSTE Foundation has supported the CityParks Foundation since 2010.

Crocogolf - France

For many, opening up golf to young people from lower-income neighborhoods was impossible, yet since 2008, the Crocogolf project has successfully won this bet.

This pilot project created by the LACOSTE Foundation in partnership with the French Golf Federation, the National Golf and the Agglomeration Community of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines allows 24 children from the agglomeration of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines , aged 7 to 14, practice golf every Wednesday morning, with 120 other students from the National Golf School. They also have the opportunity to return to the green on weekends to play with their parents. 8 of them are part of a more intensive program, thus benefiting from additional lessons on Saturdays and a program of competitions throughout the year. Faced with the success of this pilot project, two Crocogolf programs have since been opened in the North of France.

Crocogolf Nord - France

Building on the success of the CrocoGolf pilot project developed since 2008 at the Golf National, the LACOSTE Foundation extended this program in 2012 & 2015 to two new golf courses in northern France: the Golf de Mormal and the golf de Lille Métropole. The goal remains the same. The aim is to allow young people from working-class neighborhoods to practice golf on a regular basis and to introduce them to the professions of this universe through dedicated workshops. Thanks to this project, 24 children join the Mormal golf school and the Lille Métropole golf school each year. Children attend a class every Wednesday and have access to the course the rest of the week.

Become a partner of the Lacoste Foundation

The Foundation supports, in France and abroad, non-profit organizations that act in favor of youth and sport.

Eligibility criteria:

• Be of general interest and not for profit
• Sharing the values ​​of sport: tenacity, surpassing oneself, esteem and respect for others
• Practice regular golf or tennis instruction with quality coaching
• Allow children or young people in fragile situations to emancipate themselves by discovering socio-cultural universes different from their own
• Act as closely as possible in the countries where LACOSTE is established, whether commercially or in production
• Have a clear, achievable and long-term ambition with a view to sustainable change for young people
• Have clear and transparent budgets

The files submitted to the LACOSTE Foundation are examined twice a year by the Executive Committee of the Foundation. They must be sent before January 31 for the March Committee and before July 31 for the September Committee.

Governance of the Lacoste Foundation

Presidency

The LACOSTE Foundation is chaired by BERYL LACOSTE HAMILTON, granddaughter of René Lacoste and representative of the Laco ste family.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee is made up of 9 members, comprising a college of company representatives and a college of qualified personalities.

• PIERRE-HERVÉ GAUTIER, President of the Robert Abdesselam Foundation
• DOMINIQUE BRARD, Representative of Lacoste SA
• PIERRE-ANDRÉ MAUS, Representative of the Maus family
• VÉRONIQUE LACOSTE SMONDACK, Representative of the Lacoste family
• NATHALIE DECHY, Former 11th player in the world and in charge of young hopefuls at the French Tennis Federation
• BERNARD PASCASSIO, Director of Golf ASO Amaury events
• CLAUDIE HAIGNERE, Astronaut, former Minister of Research and former President of the City of Science and Industry and the Palace of Discovery
• ROSE-MARIE VAN LERBERGHE, President of the Board of Directors of the Institut Pasteur

The new website

To celebrate its 10 years, the LACOSTE Foundation is offering a new website. Dressed in the colors of the Foundation, it carries its values ​​and tells the beautiful stories of associations that support disadvantaged children and young people by allowing them to access different socio-cultural universes through the practice of golf and tennis. This site is the meeting point for all the partners of the LACOSTE Foundation and the entry point for those who wish to become one. Designed to be accessible by as many people as possible and all over the world, the site offers a consultation experience as easy on tablets as on mobiles. Ultimately, it will be awarded the Web Accessibility label.

To know more : www.fondationlacoste.org