“Imagine if the next LeBron, Michael Oher or Beyoncé never had the opportunity to pick up a basketball, football or instrument as a child,” said Chris Tsakalakis, the Chief Executive of StubHub. “Yet vital community music, theater and sports programs for youth are falling on the chopping block today. That is why Rising Stars will focus StubHub’s philanthropy where we see the greatest need: underserved, at-risk youth and locally rooted, grassroots nonprofits.”

With New Orleans in the spotlight as Super Bowl XLVII approaches, the inaugural Rising Star award and initial $50,000 grant has been awarded to a nonprofit there. The Roots of Music Foundation aims to support, teach, and protect at-risk youth through music education, academic support, and mentorship while preserving and promoting New Orleans’ musical heritage. (In January, the Roots of Music  Marching Crusaders became the youngest marching band to perform in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif.)

The Rising Stars award is designed to have a transformative impact on both the programs and the youth they serve. Benefits of selection into the Rising Stars program include grant support (starting at $25,000) from the StubHub Foundation (a corporate advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation), exposure to StubHub’s international network of sports, music and theater fans, and access to StubHub employee talent through skills-based volunteerism and dedicated service projects.

Watch a video about The Roots of Music, below. For every view of this film before Super Bowl Sunday, the StubHub Foundation will donate $1 to the Roots of Music, up to $50,000.

Read more about Rising Stars: http://www.stubhub.com/rising-stars/

More about The Roots of Music: http://www.stubhub.com/roots-of-music/