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The 8th Annual Hoop Dreams 3-on-3 Charity Basketball Tournament has been CANCELLED DUE TO RAIN. 

A Message from Susie Kay, Founder and President of the Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund --

Hello Hoop Dreams Mentors, Back Up Mentors and Special Volunteers and Friends,

As most of you know by now, we had no choice in making the very difficult and painful decision to cancel the 8th Annual Hoop Dreams Tournament this past Saturday because of severe weather conditions -- MONSOON!

All of our prayers and hopes and hard work just couldn't keep away the torrential downpours.  The courts were soaked and so were our spirits.  But, in true Hoop Dreams fashion, our Hoop Dreams volunteers and supporters still showed up in droves that morning ready to volunteer and play.

IT WAS A SIGHT FEW OF US WILL SOON FORGET! 
As the rain continued to pour, we were forced to cancel. 

Unfortunately, we were unable to have a rain date or to move it inside due to the very very high costs involved with this and the logistics of finding a site big enough for 1500 people. This year's tournament had shaped up to be an incredibly special day ... in spite of limited funding and resources ... because of the extra hard, tenacity and resolve by so many to make sure this happened ... in what has been a very challenging  year ... THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HELPED GET UP THIS FAR ... and of course --
we are already moving forward in large part because of the support of so many of you!

Right now we are trying to plan another event that will bring together all of our Hoop Dreams communities.  We will definitely be in touch when we have more details! 

                        Rain photos are here

Hoop Dreams is in the news.  Read Christine Brennan's USA TODAY article by clicking here.  

Listen to the WMAL interview.
(Windows Media)

JOIN US LATER THIS SUMMER AS THE  SUMMER CONCERT SERIES BRINGS TOP NATIONAL MUSIC ACTS BACK TO WASHINGTON, DC FROM JULY 5 TO SEPT. 6 -- WITH PARTIAL PROCEEDS BENEFITING HOOP DREAMS AND OTHER CHARITIES. details.

The Hoop Dreams Congressional Reception

The 2003 Congressional Reception on Capitol Hill drew a great crowd to the Mansfield Room of the U.S. Capitol Building.  Hoop Dreams scholars and students mixed with political dignitaries and HDSF sponsors, volunteers and supporters throughout the evening.  Special guests included Senator Jack Reed, Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator Tom Carper, Senator Mike Enzi, Senator Mark Dayton, Senator Paul Sarbanes, Senator Lincoln Chafee, Congressman Tom Davis, Congressman Bobby Scott, Congressman James Langevin, Congressman Rahm Emanuel, Congressman Mark Udall, Congressman Ruben Hinojosa, Mayor Anthony Williams, and top aides from Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton's office. These Members were also joined by HDSF sponsors, Jim Kimsey (The Kimsey Foundation), Frank Ross (KPMG), Miriam Pollin (Pricewaterhouse Coopers), Pat McGettigan (The McGettigan Foundation), and Curtis Etherly from Coca Cola in the evening's speaking program.  A highlight of the evening was LaRue Purry, an HDSF mentoring student who delivered a deeply inspiring and impassioned personal speech.

Hoop Dreams Founder Susie Kay presented Senator Reed (pictured above) with the first annual Paul Wellstone Humanitarian Award for his tremendous support of the Hoop Dreams program and his longstanding efforts to advance education and opportunity for his state, this city, and the nation.  Thank you to all that attended this special event.

See pictures of the Congressional Reception in Washington Life Magazine:  http://www.washingtonlife.com/current/hoop.htm

Preparing for the College Experience

With college notification letters starting to roll in, the February 11th Hoop Dreams Mentoring Session focused on helping our students choose the college that is the best fit for them.  Pictured above are keynote speaker Manny Friedman, Chairman & Co-CEO of Friedman, Billings & Ramsey, and an HDSF sponsor and internship provider; Susie Kay, HDSF Founder & President; and Jeffrey Paylor, a Hoop Dreams scholar who is currently participating in the Mentoring and Internship Programs.  Jeffrey is serving his internship at Friedman, Billings & Ramsey.  

In addition to a motivational talk from the Manny Friedman, the session broke into small groups to allow the students to interview the mentors who had attended the colleges they were interested in on the college experience.  Students not only gained personal knowledge of the campuses they had applied to, but were also rated on their interviewing skills gaining valuable lessons for the job market.  Mentors were asked to wear their college sweatshirts to make the matching process easier.  Ms. Kay is a proud graduate of American University. 

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE 2002-2003 HOOP DREAMS YEAR

Hoop Dreams in the News

Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund Mentor and Board Member David Ruffin has been named an "Unsung Hero" by local television station, WB50.  David was honored for his work as a Hoop Dreams mentor and his long, distinguished record of community service, including his work with the Joint Center for Political & Economic Studies and his presidency of the Board of Directors of the DC Habitat for Humanity.  David has served as a Hoop Dreams mentor since 1999 and each of his students has successfully gained college admission and a viable financial aid package.  All will be the first in their family to graduate from college.  David is picture above with his student from the Hoop Dreams Class of 2003, Kalin Williams, who has already been accepted into her first choice school, Hampton University.

See the WJLA "Working Woman" segment:

Let's Go To The Video!

7th Annual 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament
Thanks to all who participated. Photos and video are here.

Hoop Dreams Vision, Mission & Programs

The Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund is a year-round, volunteer driven effort that works to raise academic college scholarships for hardworking inner-city DC public high school students and to build bridges between diverse communities in the city through a variety of relationship building programs. Hoop Dreams connects students to the business and professional community through a college prep mentoring program, an internship program that partners with local businesses in the Washington D.C. region, and a variety of community building events. The Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund also works with The Princeton Review to provide an SAT prep program for high school juniors and seniors.

Since its inception, Hoop Dreams has awarded more than 700 academic college scholarships and scholarship renewals totaling $2 million. Please join us as we continue to help hardworking and deserving students reach college and make the most of their dreams. We can't do this without YOU! Please contact us for more information and to get involved!

The Hoop Dreams Scholarship Story.

Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund
800 K Street, NW, Suite 830
Washington, DC 20001 
202-414-4774
info@hoopdreams.org