Taking It to the Hoop to Fulfill College Dreams

Despite the name, the Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund focuses on internships, mentoring and college preparation more than basketball.

But yesterday the program lived up to its billing during the 12th Annual Three-on-Three Charity Basketball Tournament and Community Festival.

The event is the culmination of a year-long fundraising effort by Hoop Dreams, an organization that works with D.C. public high school students in wards 7 and 8. The fund aims to give high school graduates the opportunity to attend college.

Ashley Jones, a recent H.D. Woodson Senior High School graduate, received a $5,000 scholarship from Hoop Dreams this year and will attend Winston-Salem State University. She plans to major in education. Her experience with Hoop Dreams also has given her another goal: to start a foundation called Dream Big.

"I want to help students go to college and make something of themselves," Jones said.

The event featured a celebrity game that included D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) playing with two members of the Washington Wizards, Andray Blatche and Roger Mason Jr.

"You don't let obstacles keep you down," Mason advised students during a presentation before the game.

Amateur players occupied 14 half-courts marked in red spray paint along Pennsylvania Avenue during the day-long event. They knew they were helping to raise money to send D.C. students to college, but winning the tournament was the immediate goal.

"It's going to get really competitive, especially toward later rounds," said Ian Sumers, a member of the Chamgods team and a Hoop Dreams participant for three years. "It's going to get really physical. Everybody wants to win. Nobody wants to lose."

Off the court, the tournament was like an informal high school reunion for graduates who had received assistance from the program.

"Every time you come back, you see people you haven't seen for years and years," said Danielle Mitchell, a Woodson graduate who attended Delaware State University. Mitchell was part of the first group of students to receive scholarship money from the Hoop Dreams fund.

The event was also a chance to bring community members together to support D.C. public school students, said Susie Kay, founder and president of Hoop Dreams.

Kay started teaching at Woodson in 1990 and founded Hoop Dreams in 1996. She began operating Hoop Dreams full time in 2003.

"It's really, really hard, so I remind myself that the kids don't have the luxury or opportunity to give up, so neither do I," Kay said.

The tournament began June 13, 1996, as a one-day, eight-hour event to raise money for college scholarships.

"I haven't really come up for air since that day," Kay said.

The first year's success gave Kay the opportunity to build the Hoop Dreams fund. Kay named the organization after the 1994 documentary of the same name that followed two African American teens from the inner city on their way to becoming college basketball players. Kay said many of her students have had similar experiences.

Hoop Dreams now raises $1.4 million annually to provide scholarships and services to student participants, Kay said. It has helped send 850 students to college, Kay said.

"This is the best investment that we can make as a community," Kay said.