Our History
In the summer of 2011, creator Doug Probst shared an idea with Roger Rawlins and Bill Jordan - two of his fellow executives at DSW Inc. (Designer Shoe Warehouse). They were each accustomed to writing checks and sitting on non-profit boards but they yearned for a more personal and direct way to give back to the community. The simple idea was to create a team of like-minded and successful professionals to coach high school student-athletes by leveraging mutual appreciation for the life lessons learned through participation in athletic competition. The creation of a focused, annual program with a team-based approach would enable meaningful one-on-one coaching of high school student-athletes, without requiring an overwhelming demand of time.
After sharing stories of the negative impact of poor first impressions they established a framework on which the program could grow and the Handshake Foundation was born. On February 9th, 2012 they were having their first coaching session with the first three student-athletes of The Handshake Program. To accommodate the plans for future growth in other cities, the Handshake Foundation became Handshake America in August 2015.
Through 2022, the Program has coached 462 student-athletes for success in life and has awarded over $500,000 in postsecondary scholarships.
Handshake America has been steadily growing since it was founded in 2011. Every year, Handshake America has expanded to reach more student-athletes and schools in the Central Ohio, Metro Atlanta, and Western Carolina regions. Our plan is to expand our reach and impact into more cities in the coming years.
Learn more about the inspiration that fueled the launch of our coaching and scholarship program, in Handshake America’s Story of Impact, published by the Columbus Foundation