[dropcap]O[/dropcap]ver here at living.life.fearless we spotlight anybody and everybody that is doing something we think is special and noteworthy. After my last post, For The L #%! Of It, and with the basketball season fast approaching, this is the perfect time for me to drop this spotlight. All you have to do nowadays is turn your TV to any news station and you’ll get a very bleak picture of the world, it would seem that everything will be coming to an end at any given moment. Now if you are a Glenn Beck follower then you probably already have a mountain of gold stored away for the apocalypse, and probably hate everything about this site. I, on the other hand, think that the best investment is not into something abstract that we have somehow deemed valuable, but instead into the human spirit; that’s where you’ll discover the greatest wealth of all. But then again we do tend to be hopeless optimists over here and have a lot more faith in humanity than most. We believe that not everyone is an ego maniac and money hungry, they’re just the ones who get the coverage. Matter of fact, with the state of media as it is today, you would be led to think that the genuinely good-hearted people are an endangered species; I beg to differ.
I believe that if you want to save our future, then it’s simple, save our youth. No matter how hard the ‘old heads ‘ may try to cling to their positions of power, we are the future, it’s the law of nature. Disclaimer — Calling your elders ‘old heads’ and telling them that their time is up might not turn out so well. The real issue is how do you reach the youth? How do you reach a generation that is disenchanted with all the corruption, infighting, and seemingly endless string of terrible events. Nobody wants to take charge of a situation in which they feel they have no influence and has no visible solution. Well, I don’t have all the answers to this, but there is this wonderful invention called sports; it’s a universal language which has this magical way of changing lives, giving people purpose, and instilling values that breed success. The people over at Hooplife Academy have recognized this power of sport and strive to ensure that our future is brighter than ever.
They are a non-profit organization based out of North Carolina that serves the youth of our communities through sports mentorship, character building and academic/literacy programs. It was founded by Rodney Blackstock (a former professional basketball player), and has a board of advisors that consists of Andrea Greene (Executive Director and Acting Board Chairman), William W. McCandless III (Financial Advisor for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney), and Michelle A. Shepard (Director of Central Services for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greensboro). Their mission statement is as follows:
“Our mission is to support the youth of our local communities and work towards a greater good. We are dedicated and tireless in our efforts to ensure that the youth of today have active and successful lives in the future.
Our non-profit organization serves youth of all races, creeds, and religions. Hooplife Academy offers its resources regardless of economic status or affiliation.”
They do a lot with the youth who have basketball aspirations, but along the way they gain so much more. They provide other programs such as the Hooplife Academy Reading All-Stars, which encourages reading and reading comprehension developement; Kool Kicks, which helps provide new athletic shoes to kids in need; and mentoring, which is specially tailored to each individual and provides one-on-one mentoring, academic guidance, health/nutrition guidance (including drug/alcohol education and counseling), life skills, and sports training. Hooplife Academy recently got done with a succesful event, called E.A.T (Elite Athletic Training), down in Los Angeles, where they took 20 high school basketball players through intense on court skill development, financial workshops, nutritional seminars and Habitat for Humanity community service.
They truly are an organization that stands for everything we do at living.life.fearless and are truly trying to make our futures much brighter. So check them out over at, Hooplife Academy, where you can gain more information about what they’re all about, provide donations, and volunteer. You can also find them on Facebook here and follow them on twitter @HOOPLIFEACADEMY. It’s time we restore the faith in each other again and start investing into our futures. #LLF
