MLK Day “Hoops from the Heart” Benefits Community Action Agency

Jan 4, 2023 | Events, News

Three area schools and their men’s and women’s hoop teams are joining up to host the 20th Annual “Hoops from the Heart” Basketball Youth Clinics on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on January 16th.  This will be the first time the MLK youth clinics have been held since the COVID-19 Pandemic.  Young players across the county will drive to the hoop to raise funds and food donations for the Community Action Agency of Delaware County, Inc. (CAADC), a social service agency that helps families and individuals to move toward self-sufficiency.

Called “Hoops from the Heart,” the MLK Day of Service initiative was started in 2002 at Haverford High School and has since raised over $135,000 for Community Action Agency programs that serve low-income residents in Delaware County.  Schools hosting the clinics this year are Cabrini University in Radnor (9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.), Haverford High School (10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.) and Neuman University in Aston (10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.).

College coaches and players will run the clinics.  The clinics, open to boys and girls in grades one through eight, will cover all aspects of fundamental play. Each player who preregisters will get a complimentary T-shirt.  Cost for the clinics is $30.

All proceeds raised benefit CAADC programs, which include emergency housing, social services, employment training and life skills training. In addition to operating shelters for individuals and families, the CAADC also provides many vital services including welfare-to-work programs, and food and fuel assistance.

In addition, each athlete is asked to donate one or two non-perishable food item that will go to the Life Center of Eastern Delaware County, one of CAADC’s emergency housing programs. The Life Center is located at 63rd and Market streets, Upper Darby, and houses homeless individuals serving over 100 residents each year.  The Life Center also operates a feeding program that serves residents daily.

For information about the 20th Annual “Hoops from the Heart” event, contact Sharon Grasty at CAADC at (610) 833-4450.

To register, online forms are available at each school’s website or by calling:

  • Haverford High School Haverford Recreation Dept.: 610.446.9397 (Coach Bobbi Morgan) – Directed by Ursinus College Coach Bobbi Morgan and Haverford High Boys Varsity Coach Keith Heinrichs
  • Neumann University: 484.840.4711 (Athletic Director Chuck Sack) – Directed by NU coaches Mary Beth McNichol and Men’s Coach Jim Rullo
  • Cabrini College: 610.902.1016 (Coach Kate Pearson)