The National Center For Children and Families is hosting a 3-on-3 basketball tournament for the second straight year to raise money for its Greentree Adolescent Program.
The program provides teen boys in the foster care system with housing, counseling, substance abuse prevention and recreational programs.
The tournament helps raise money for NCCF staff to take the kids on a summer vacation, something program director Roberta Rinker said is important when they go back to Pyle Middle School and Whitman High School and hear about all the family vacations other students went on during the summer.
“We really consider it our family vacation,” Rinker said. “They’re going to these schools where their classmates have these amazing trips with their families. It’s important for the boys to have a normal, family-like experience like that. Most of them haven’t been out of the state of Maryland.”
This summer, staff will take the group to Philadelphia to visit the Liberty Bell, aquarium and a Philadelphia Phillies game. The kids will also tour Temple University and head to an amusement park in New Jersey.
The tournament is set for noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday at the Youth Activity Center on NCCF’s campus (6301 Greentree Rd.). Teams can have four players, meaning one substitution, and the entry fee is $80.
Last year’s inaugural tournament had 16 teams and raised $1,500 for the program. It’s one of the program’s biggest fundraisers, Rinker said, and is a natural attraction to the kids in the program, who often spend time in the campus’ full-court gym.
The winning team will get a trophy and there will be raffles, snacks, drinks and a DJ.
Email Chris Patterson at jpatterson@nccf-cares.org or AB Johnson at ajohnson@nccf-cares.org for more information.
