Team William Blair took first place honors on April 13 at the MetroSquash Cup, an annual fundraising and squash competition that benefits MetroSquash, a Chicagoland nonprofit that supports youth development.
The 21-member team of William Blair colleagues and friends led by wealth advisor Jackie Moss took home the MetroSquash Cup, beating out competitors from six other corporate sponsors. The tournament, held at the MetroSquash Center in Woodlawn, raised more than $870,000 to fund the group that uses squash to engage youth in their community and nurture learning.
The win was a special honor since MetroSquash was selected last year as a 2018-2019 William Blair Community Partner, a firm-wide program created to strengthen employees' philanthropic commitment to local communities.
“It was an incredible event and the support from William Blair—both the participation and the financial donations—made a huge difference,” said Moss. “We were proud to bring home the cup to William Blair. The fourth year was the charm.”
William Blair has played in the cup since it was established in 2016—placing second and third over the years—but this was the first time it won the cup. The team placed first in the A and B doubles and second in singles. The tournament also featured the firm's fundraising and volunteerism, including top donor awards presented to William Blair's Jim O'Connor and Allyson Martinez, who recruited the most donors toward the 2019 cup.
MetroSquash, co-founded by Moss who was captain of her squash team at Princeton, has become a popular vehicle in recent years for William Blair staff to mentor youth from Chicago's South Side and Evanston neighborhoods. It currently serves 400 youth, from middle schoolers to collegians.
A key part of the William Blair Community Partnership is sponsoring MetroSquash's career-readiness efforts and summer internship program. It began last summer with 41 college students interning at companies across the United States including four at William Blair.