Prince & Campbell Honorary Coaches
Campbell & Prince spent the evening acting as honorary coaches and interacting with the youth that participate. They finished the night by conducting a Q&A session with the participants and discussing the importance of discipline and education as well as describing their pathways to become college athletes.
The recently expanded Windy City Hoops league is a successful Chicago Park District community basketball program designed to provide a safe environment for at-risk youth throughout Chicago. The league expansion was announced this past February by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Chicago citizens chipped in to donate funds for the expansion with more than $450,000, including substantial donations from the Sammons Financial Group, Gardner Family Foundation, Integrys Energy Services and GEM Capital Realty, Inc.
We are honored and excited to have these two professional players inspire our young athletes, said Park District General Superintendent and CEO Michael Kelly. These types of partnerships with the private and public sectors ensure the ongoing success of this program.
League play for the Windy City Hoops summer session began mid July and will run through August 24 on Fridays, 7-10 p.m. and Saturdays, 5-10 p.m. at 10 locations. Since the programs launch in March, attendance figures have exceeded a total of 11,000 during the nine-week span.
The 10 Windy City Hoops sites are spread across eight community areas and were chosen according to such factors as high crime levels and low median income. Sites include: Loyola Park (Rogers Park) Amundsen (Austin) Columbus (Austin) Garfield (East Garfield) Franklin (North Lawndale) Kennicott (Kenwood) Jackson (Woodlawn) Ogden (Englewood) Hamilton (Englewood) Fernwood (Roseland)
Windy City Hoops is an expansion of a youth and young adult basketball program aimed at enhancing neighborhood safety, engaging at-risk young adults, and reducing illegal gang activity in targeted neighborhoods. Over the past year, the Park District has received close to 15,000 total registrations in its basketball programs - including open gym, leagues, instructional programs, and camps.