Timoteo is explicitly Christian in its approach to working with youth, Timoteo being Spanish for Timothy, who was mentored by St. Paul. For more than a decade, Timoteo has been working with at risk young people in a couple of the most challenged neighborhoods in Philadelphia, offering opportunities to be engaged in athletics, mentoring, and discipleship. Timoteo was founded in 2005 and grew rapidly, now serving 600 youth in a typical year. For many, Timoteo becomes their “3rd place.” They have a home, a school, and Timoteo.

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Timoteo’s youth flag football league has 12 teams and serves 250 youth each spring. Timoteo also runs an adult league, a girls’ basketball program, and a summer camp. Statistics are kept, videos highlight players, and there is a Hall of Fame.  Through mentoring, participants become team leaders, team leaders become assistant coaches, and assistant coaches become head coaches. Coaches become involved in the lives of participants on and off the field, helping youth work through problems.

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The reputation of Timoteo is spreading. They have helped a similar program get off the ground in Baltimore. The two city’s champions played each other, giving the team from Philadelphia the opportunity to travel to another city. They are in contact with a program in Detroit, and hope to travel there for a game in the future. These are rare opportunities for the team’s members to extend their worlds and understand their potential to be “players” in a world larger than their home turf.

Timoteo partners with Esperanza Health Center, Esperanza College, a neighborhood legal clinic, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Police Athletic League, and Eastern University.