USA - Taking the next step

The Hoops 4 Hope organization that Mark Crandall of Amagansett has overseen for the past decade, an effort that has been using basketball as a way through which to mentor 10,000 children in Zimbabwe and South Africa, is ready, in his words, to "take it to the next level."

"We've done a lot on a shoestring — we've raised over $1 million for our work in that time and we've built a successful model," said Crandall, who has volunteered his services ever since founding the organization, "but we know there are many more thousands of children throughout Africa who need us. As I said, we've done this on a shoestring, but imagine what we could do if we had a pair of shoes, so to speak."

Shoes, in the form of "gently used sneakers," have played a big part in the Hoops 4 Hope program, whose sneaker drives have been promoted nationally on Bobbito Garcia's "It's the Shoes" show on ESPN2.

That video was shown at Hoops 4 Hope's third clinic with Larry Brown and other well-known coaches at the Southampton Recreation Center last summer. In it, Ngoni Mukulula, who oversees the organization's work in Zimbabwe, said, "It's every kid's dream here to get a pair of sneakers and a T-shirt. If he does, he's always on time. It's a great motivating factor."

Hoops 4 Hope, with the construction of portable hoops and the provision of sneakers and uniforms, has used the draw of basketball, a sport that is growing by leaps and bounds in Africa now, as a means through which to address issues of importance to young Africans.

"We're in more than 150 schools now," said Crandall, whose peer educators, known as "all-star m.v.p. coaches," besides coaching and refereeing, also give instruction in life skills and in H.I.V.-AIDS prevention, using curriculums developed by Hoops 4 Hope.

"AIDS is epidemic in Africa," said Crandall. "We're trying to get the kids — most of those we work with are between the ages of 9 and 14 — on the prevention bandwagon, to change behavior before they get in trouble. It's important to keep them busy, to keep them off the streets, through practices, clinics, games, tournaments, and through the mentoring we offer."

Hoops 4 Hope has got its foot in the National Basketball Association's door. Thus far, it has developed relationships, Crandall said, with the New York Knicks, the Boston Celtics, and the Golden State Warriors.

A $15,000 signature court donated by the Celtics' general manager, Chris Wallace, is to be built soon in Johannesburg, he said. A court in Cape Town has been donated by Larry Brown, and a second one, the result of donations by Brown, Mike Woodson, and John Calipari, who gave the clinic here this summer, is to be built there.

Crandall, who's hoping, through grants, to hire a director in this country and to staff a small office here, probably in New York City, as well as to, as aforesaid, expand in Africa, met with an N.B.A. representative last week and came back "very encouraged."

"They gave us $5,000, and told us to draw up project-specific requests," he said, adding that "there are 100 N.B.A. players who have their own foundations — we're going to try to get endorsements. We need help in keeping the momentum going, in keeping the ball bouncing."

Hoops 4 Hope received an assist recently from the Schaefer Bus Company, which gave Crandall's organization one of its school buses — one with not many miles on it. Nick Tuths, an East Hampton High School and Boston College graduate and Hoops 4 Hope volunteer, is to fill it up with sneakers over the holiday season.

"The N.B.A. has said it wants to help with our sneaker drive too, so Nick better get ready," said Crandall. "It will be interesting to see how many we'll get."

"Eventually, we'll send the bus to Africa by boat," said Tuths, who spent about a month at Hoops 4 Hope's centers in southern Africa last winter.

But no matter how many sneakers were donated, "kids and coaches will still be going barefoot over there," he said. "We gave a clinic in Zimbabwe in the rain and more than 100 kids showed up. The next day, which was a nice day, we gave a clinic on one court with six balls, and 300 showed up. We did defensive drills in the parking lot. It was amazing. The kids were so dedicated and the coaches were amazing. Despite a lack of facilities, Hoops 4 Hope is still able to draw all these kids."

"Here, we hear about H.I.V. and AIDS," he continued, "but there it's very real. They either know someone who has it, or they're related to somebody who has it. It's in the bedroom next to you, in the house next to you. That's why Hoops 4 Hope was started. Education needs to be there. My visit there was quite an experience. I've seen the program in action. I've seen the kids there wearing Shoreham-Wading River jerseys, and Pierson and Bridgehampton uniforms. I know the program works, and I'd like to shine a light on it. I'm honored to run the sneaker drive."

By Jack Graves