Hoops that Help began on the upper level of Ann Arbor’s famous Zingerman’s Deli.  The idea originated from one specific thing that runs throughout our family and that is the love of basketball.  The four of us each began playing sports through our parish, Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth, MI.  OLGC did a great job of allowing us to find great value in all sports.  Basketball was the one common sport that all of us really loved.

On that upper level of Zingerman’s, somehow and in someway the concept of starting a charity worked into our lunch conversation.  No one could deny that it would be an exceptional opportunity to give back to the community around us.  After we finished eating, we walked back to the car, and on the way we passed a community basketball court that had several kids playing and having fun.  For some reason, we started talking about various memories of seeing basketball courts in and around Detroit with broken-down rims and missing backboards.  At that moment, a seed was planted that would grow into Hoops That Help.

It took some time and many family conversations, but over the course of that first year the idea took shape.  The four of us came up with a name to represent the charity and a mission statement.  Our mission is to install basketball hoops in communities in need to provide less fortunate kids with opportunities to keep active, have fun and stay out of trouble.  We have big plans to help many kids that love basketball as much as we do, and to give them a place to play.

Billy, Rosie, Sammy & Tony — Co-Founders of Hoops That Help