WS Chronicle

Brittany Ward, founder and executive director of the Hoops4L.Y.F.E. (H4L) nonprofit, has dedicated much of her adult life to helping others in her community. On Oct. 20, H4L held their sixth annual breast cancer charity basketball tournament.

The tournament was held at the Winston Lake YMCA and it involved three teams in a single elimination tournament. The two new teams faced off first before taking on last year’s champion. After the dust settled, Lee Game was crowned the new champions of the tournament.

H4L partnered with Cancer Services Inc. and together they selected a young lady to assist with a portion of the proceeds brought in from the tournament. Ward also brought out vendors to sell goods and services at the tournament as well. The women’s basketball team from Piedmont International University came out to assist with the tournament and the Carolina Stars performed for the crowd.

Ward also honored those who have passed away from breast cancer, along with bringing in some of those who have survived the disease. The Pink Fire Truck was also on site that allowed survivors to sign their names on the truck.

Ward says the initial purpose of the tournament was to “recognize breast cancer in black and brown communities and how to honor and uplift those who have passed from the disease.

“From a different aspect, we wanted to find a way to provide some financial support,” said Ward. Some women work through chemotherapy, but we all know that bills still come up and we just wanted to help in that area. You could give money for research or other things, but the cause we chose was to support that financial burden that a woman might have while going through treatment. And a lot of people didn’t know that 50% of the proceeds went to a woman locally.”

Ward said she wants to continue to grow the tournament in size so that the financial impact made toward a person dealing with the disease can become more significant. She understands that not every woman can continue to work and go through the rigors of chemotherapy at the same time.

Helping those in need continues to be a passion for Ward, because she is from the city, lives in the city, and immersed in the community with the youth and young adults.

“Knowing that our city and our community can and will get better from the acts that I do, the things I instill in the kids, or the things I share in family engagement events, I feel as though the kids will see this and do the same things when they get older,” she said about her passion for helping others. “They have been trained to do good will and I just want to be that example to show them how to do it the right way.”

Moving forward, Ward would love to have more resources available to her nonprofit. She appreciates the larger nonprofit organizations, but feels Hoops4L.Y.F.E. can help the community more due to her constant presence in the community.  

Ward wanted to thank all the sponsors who contributed time and money to the tournament, as well as those who came out to enjoy the basketball action.