WS Chronicle

HOOPS4L.Y.F.E. (H4L) non-profit recently held a 2-on-2 basketball tournament to raise funds for their summer activities. The Big & Little Tournament was a big hit at the Hanes Hosiery Recreation Center.

The tournament had a unique format where a child played with an adult not only to compete, but to also build a sense of community with the children. The idea for the tournament came through a conversation Brittany Ward, H4L director, had with a friend pertaining to a fundraising idea.

Ward then connected with Valerie Glass from Triad Restorative Justice (TRJ) and the dominos began to fall from there. The name Big & Little was created by Glass during the creative process.

“I told her (Glass) that I had this idea for a basketball tournament, but I also want to build and strengthen relationships between parents and their kids,” Ward said about the idea for the tournament. “We began talking and developed the concept and her board stepped up and helped us gain some sponsors.”

The highlight of the day was the opportunity to see the young kids playing basketball with their mother or father, Ward said.  

They began the tournament with a group circle. The circle was used as a method to get everyone connected with one another, said Glass.

“We were trying to figure out how to incorporate a way to help them connect with each other through the tournament, so we decided on a circle before the tournament began,” said Glass. “We wanted everyone to connect, not just with the basketball tournament, but in more of a personal way in the circle at the beginning.”

Ward and Glass were pleased with the turnout, even with the little promotion they did via social media. Glass stated she was enthusiastic about the positive atmosphere in the building during the tournament.

“It was a lot of fun and everyone was excited and pumped up to get started,” she said. “It had a lot of energy and I was kind of pleased to see how the kids and the grownups came together.”

The collaboration between the two organizations was a success according to both ladies. According to Glass, TRJ’s mission is to promote and advance equity and trust in the community through restorative responses to conflict, crime and injustice by using education, training and advocacy.

They strive to look at justice from a different perspective and seeing how it impacts different people, Glass continued.  

“First, it’s about building relationships, so that when there are conflicts, injustice or crime, we look at it through a relationship focus and try to repair that relationship.”

Ward feels this event was a total success. The two organizations plan to collaborate more in the future.