Town & country
Even in the early days of tennis player Tommy Paul and influencer Paige Lorenze’s relationship, the pair talked about working together. Now, as they prepare to get married this year, they have decided to launch their own foundation: Kids Outdoors.
“We felt like now was the perfect time,” Lorenze tells Town & Country. “Sport has really made us who we are today—and specifically being outdoors has made us who we are. We grew up in such different sports and such different climates, but we have so much in common. So much of what was instilled in us at a young age from our confidence, our ability to take risk, and just that confidence and competitive edge that we carry.”
Paul adds, “It’s cool getting to build something with the person you're building a life with. Paige is insanely creative and driven, and being around that everyday makes me better too. We still keep work and home separate, but I love that we get to cheer each other on in both and now get to work on something we’re both passionate about.”
Kids Outdoors will focus on supporting and funding pre-existing programs that provide access to sports with traditional high barriers to entry like tennis, skiing, and horseback riding. In addition, Paul and Lorenze, via their foundation, will host their own events that create “inspiring moments” for kids, introducing them to the power of sport. “Tommy and I are really boots on the ground type of people,” Lorenze says. “We like to give back is through community and action in person. So we’re really excited to do things in person and give back and in that way.”
Those in-person events will include after school tennis programs in South Florida, where Paul is based. “I’m most excited about the tennis side of things,” says Paul, “and getting people into the sport that haven’t been able to play. [I’m] definitely hoping to inspire and motivate kids to start playing.” While Kids Outdoors has no grantees as of yet, they are working with a social impact fund headquartered out of Los Angeles.
The foundation’s inspiration is rooted in their shared athletic backgrounds. Lorenze, who grew up in Vermont and attended the prestigious Burke Mountain ski academy, was on track to be a competitive ski racer before she decided to switch gears. “That’s all I thought about and that’s all I cared about,” she says. Being a ski racer “was my whole identity. Then when I moved on, I actually realized that I learned so much from sport and it made me who I am.” So, she says, it’s important to work “with kids who might not be professional athletes,” but know that sport can have such a positive impact on their life.
Last year, Lorenze’s brand Dairy Boy restored and financially supported a local farm stand, Viv’s Veggies, in her local Connecticut community. “That inspired me a lot, working on the farm stand, just the way that I saw it affect my direct community,” she says. “It was so meaningful to me and the way that I saw that impact the community, I think that I really wanted to do something bigger and with Tommy.”
Paul, who was born in New Jersey but grew up in Eastern North Carolina and South Florida, has been a professional tennis player for over a decade. While he’s not thinking about his post-tennis career (yet), “I would love this organization to live on far after I am done playing on tour” he says of Kids Outdoors.
“It means a ton to me to get back to my community just because I know how much my community has given me,” Paul says of what drives his philanthropy. “A lot of people put time and energy into me when I was growing up—coaches, family, the tennis community—so this feels like paying that forward. For me this is about showing up and doing what you can for the next generation of potential athletes, at the professional level and enthusiast level.”
EMILY BURACK
Senior News Editor
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
