Established in 2020, the Brenda Villa Foundation supports individuals, community leaders, and organizations in under-resourced areas. This is achieved through microgrants aimed at promoting aquatics within these communities.
Their Mission
The Brenda Villa Foundation is committed to enhancing water safety and fostering diversity in aquatic sports.
Their Journey
Founder Brenda Villa began her aquatic journey at six years old with the Commerce Aquatics Club team. At eight, she followed her brother into water polo. Supported by community funding, Commerce Aquatics provided invaluable opportunities for youth in the Commerce community to learn swimming and water polo that they might not have otherwise had access to.
As an alum of Commerce Aquatics, Brenda won a national championship at Stanford University, spent 16 years on the United States national water polo team, and earned four Olympic medals, including a gold in the 2012 Olympics. This was possible because Brenda had access to a pool and skilled coaches who taught her the fundamentals.
After retiring from her athletic career, Brenda co-founded Project 2020, a non-profit promoting water safety in East Menlo Park, CA. After positively impacting hundreds of children in her local community, Brenda joined forces with fellow aquatics advocates Kyle Utsumi and Kelsey Holshouser to extend their reach to under-resourced communities nationwide.
Inspired by Brenda’s experiences in the Commerce, CA community, the trio launched the Brenda Villa Foundation with the aim of transforming aquatics in under-resourced areas.
Their Achievements
In 2011, they established Project 2020, a non-profit organization that offers low-income youths in the San Francisco mid-peninsula region the opportunity to learn swimming and water polo.
Their ultimate goal was to shift the narrative in our community, and they are proud to report that they assisted over 500 kids in East Menlo Park, a disadvantaged community in Northern California, in learning these essential skills.
While Project 2020 was a resounding success, primarily impacting one community, the Brenda Villa Foundation is setting its sights higher. They aspire to expand Project 2020’s mission to communities all across the United States.
