Shortly after graduating from the University of Oregon, Marshall Cho journeyed to New York City on a Teach for America assignment. And it was here, in the Basketball Mecca, where Cho (a former varsity hoops captain in high school) had a roundball revelation. While coaching 8th grade kids at his appointed middle school in the Bronx that winter, he discovered that the game was more than mere Xs-and-Os — it was a vehicle for forging relationships and creating wholesome connections with ballplayers whose backgrounds starkly contrast your own.
Marshall eventually followed his wife to Africa, who was there completing some philanthropic work. To sate his hoops addiction, he erected a hoop in his backyard and kids from his ‘hood visited in droves, galvanized by the pebbled ball’s pitter-patter on the dirt court. Many showed up daily, eager to learn, most of them playing without shoes. This prompted Cho into action, and well, he didn’t stop. Over the next three years, he worked collaboratively with Hoops4Hope, Basketball Without Borders, and constructed courts in Xai Xai and Maputo, Mozambique.
Hit the jump to learn more about Marshall’s philanthropic efforts in Africa. Read More »
Another successful year is in the books for Hoops 4 Hope! The charitable organization’s annual summertime benefit is happenin’ on August 22 in Sagaponack, NY. Food and drink will be accompanied by emceeing from Susan Burden and William Goldman.
What: Hoops 4 Hope Summer Soiree Benefit
When: August 22, 2009. Time to be announced.
Where: Sagaponack, NY.
For details, e-mail Molly Blair at moblair28@gmail.com or call 917-414-0810.
Longtime Hoops 4 Hope supporter Allie Bernstein linked up with customizing king Brahm Watcher to design a series of Nike Air Force 1s that celebrate H4H’s charitable efforts in Africa. Watcher, a sophomore at Brown University, has caught national recognition for his ongoing alliance with the Boston Red Sox and a number of high-profile collectors along the eastern seaboard. All told, three different AF1s will be available exclusively at H4H events throughout the summer: gold/black, South Africa (green/yellow/black/red/blue), and Zimbabwe (green/red/yellow/black).
Hit the jump to get a closer look at Brahm’s work and visit H4H’s official website to learn more about the organization’s contributions abroad.
Hoops 4 Hope is a global not-for-profit organization that organizes basketball clinics, teaches AIDS awareness and outfits shoeless children with your old athletic shoes. Donating cash or kicks to the H4H cause is a translocal effort–the kids you’re helping might be stationed in Zimbabwe or could quite possibly be those that go without in your own locale.
We recently received an open letter from our friends at Hoops 4 Hope:
Dear Friends,
Hoops 4 Hope has made some remarkable achievements so far in 2009. We remain optimistic about our efforts both in the U.S. and in southern Africa, but our friends in Africa still need your help!Many of you have been asking me how the current economic downturn has affected H4H in Zimbabwe:In the face of tremendous obstacles on the ground there, our Director Ngoni Mukukula continues to achieve remarkable results with minimal resources, inflated cost of living, failing equipment, and political strife. Today funds are needed, more than ever, to cover the salaries of our coaches, the school fees for our children, the petrol and maintenance for our vehicles, and the upkeep of our courts, equipment, and local office. With a system and society on the brink of collapse, H4H is still in full operation keeping children’s hopes alive in many communities and orphanages, through BASKETBALL.
Hit the jump to finish the letter and learn how to help H4H’s cause.Read More »
