As we get ready to hoop Saturday night, I wanted to quickly provide my annual update on where the proceeds from our Alumni Tournament donations are being utilized, and how the fundraising efforts at our event are helping create a tangible impact in the lives of future EHS students and basketball players.
For the past several years, the Alumni Tournament Committee has asked our alumni base to provide a donation to participate in our annual Tournament. Last year's proceeds (approximately $1,150) went towards supporting Everett Hoop Club, which is the non-profit organization that operates the Everett AAU program for both the boys and girls programs. While your donation may seem forgettable once you've signed up at the registration table and is just a means to play in our annual event, I hope that the following Everett AAU program update helps illustrate that these donations are vital to Everett Hoop Club's efforts to support our young student/athletes.
The 2017-18 season was a successful
experience for both our boys’ and girls’ teams. Our 5th and 8th
grade boys’ teams qualified for the Wesco Tournament, and all four girls’ teams
finished near the top of the Cascade League. The girls’ side also traveled to
Sunnyside in March for a tournament where the 8th graders took 2nd
and the 6th graders took 4th against very stiff
competition. It was a memorable experience for all the girls and their coaches!
We expect that our program will make a beneficial
difference in the quality of players coming to play at Everett, on both the
boys’ and girls’ sides. We currently have 9 boys and 8 girls playing for EHS this year that graduated from our program last spring, included 5 at the varsity level (1 boy, 4 girls).
Achieving these outcomes wouldn’t be
possible without the help of our supportive community. As I’ve outlined in previous correspondence,
Everett Hoop Club is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is
committed to providing player development and personal empowerment
opportunities for kids in grades 4-8 attending Everett Public Schools that will
one day feed to Everett High School. Our
volunteers, financial contributors, and coaches all play an equally vital role
in ensuring that our program participants receive the coaching and mentorship
necessary to be successful. The kids are
learning the values of leadership, collaboration, and hard work. By instilling these values and placing our
boys and girls on age-specific teams that compete against the best competition
in the Puget Sound region, we are committed to using basketball as a conduit
that not only develops their on-court abilities, but also teaches valuable life
skills.
However, this continues to create an
operational challenge for our organization.
While EHC creates small revenue streams through tournament game
admissions and concessions, fundraising is a necessary ingredient to offsetting
the cost of maintaining a quality program.
For us to continue making this experience a reality for our kids, we are
reaching out to community members like you and offering the opportunity to
contribute. As was the case last year, your
contribution will go directly to Everett Hoop Club and will help purchase
uniforms and equipment, as well as pay league fees, facility usage fees, player
liability insurance, and other operating costs.
Most importantly, it allows us the ability to continue making positive
impacts in the lives of our program participants.
For our continuing players, during
the off season in spring and summer our program continued to build skills by
holding weekly 90-minute clinics at EHS, putting the kids through a demanding
regimen of ball handling and shooting. Attendance was up, with around 30-40
kids per week. We could see a tangible difference during tryouts—they were flat
out better players!
Most importantly, Everett Hoop Club
believes that every player who wishes to participate should be able to
regardless of financial situation. 29 of our 91 participants this season are on either full scholarship or had their player fee reduced, and we are
proud that financial hardship has never been a barrier for these players.
Without Everett Hoop Club, these players may not otherwise have a chance to
play at this level before high school.
For us to continue making this experience a reality for our kids, I am reaching out to our alumni base and offering the opportunity to contribute. As was the case last year, your contribution will go directly to Everett Hoop Club and will help provide the means to purchase uniforms and equipment, league fees, facility usage fees, player liability insurance, and other operating costs. Most importantly, it allows us the ability to continue making positive impacts in the lives of our program participants.
So while we are asking for a suggested donation of $10, I'm hoping that each of us can dig a little deeper tomorrow and give a little extra. Each of us had an experience wearing the Blue & Gold that enriched our life experience is some capacity, and this is a way we can give back and ensure the the next generation is given the best opportunity to have a similar experience when they get to EHS. Additionally, all players/contributors that donate $15 or more at Saturday's event will receive this year's Alumni Tournament t-shirt (special thanks to H&L Sports and Screen Printing NW for their donation of the shirts to our event!). Also, if you are unable to attend this year's event and would like to contribute to Everett Hoop Club, please learn more about the program and our kids at our GoFundMe page. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Looking forward to seeing everyone at The Pit Saturday night!
Regards,
Bobby Thompson
Class of 1996
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