THE ASSOCIATION
The Blessed Hoops Association
Dakar, Senegal – Petion-Ville, Haïti – London, United Kingdom – New York, USA – Gland, Switzerland
We use education and basketball to develop the next generation of leaders.
The Blessed hoops programs are designed to inspire, empower and equip young people with the skills they need to succeed in life. Through this, we will re-define the student-athlete model and develop socially conscious leaders that will continue to better their communities.
We currently serve 30 youth studends in Senegal, Haiti, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States after-school academic, athletic and leadership development programs.
We also train youth basketball coaches across all 5 countries to
- Increase year-to-year school retention rates
- Increase middle school and high school graduation rates
- Reduce the education gender gap
- Provide high-quality athletic programming
Our goal is to develop thoughtful leaders that will be the role models for the generation of youth to come after them, and Blessed hoops Gives provides our students with tangible leadership activities to hone those skills. We achieve this by empowering our students to run community service events, and by leveraging our relationships with our partners to donate product to underserved schools and communities.
We teach young kids that education is the pathway to success
• Reinforce the importance of leadership and civic responsibility to youth
• Provide tangible leadership opportunities for our student-athletes Activities:
• Product donations (basketball gear, books or tech) to underserved communities• Student-led community service events (ex: recycling pick-up, basketball clinics, etc.)
• Court refurbishments at local schools and youth clubs
OUR GOAL
is to guide our student – athletes and give them all the tools to one day have the possibility to graduate and obtain a degree, to do this we consider many athletic and academic factors as we prepare them for life as a student-athlete.
- Tuition to attend a local private or public middle school or high school
- English language classes
- High performance basketball training
- Academic tutoring and grade monitoring
- College placement support (BAC, SAT/ACT, TOEFL)
- Study abroad opportunities in the U.S., Africa, Europe.
Our experience has made us aware of some more subtle problems that are hindering the progress of these talented players. We have found that athletically our student-athletes are able to compete with the top players in the world, in their respective age groups. However, they are falling short academically, and we recognize the importance to help find solutions to this issue. By having the goal of our players earning athletic scholarships, we are directly aligned with the idea that school must be a priority for them to succeed in life as a player, and after their careers. We increase their awareness of the international exams that will need to be taken and passed for them to reach their goals. We also mentor our players by using basketball to teach fundamental life skills such as time management and punctuality, self discipline and communication skills.
