Good, clean fun. This is the experience Syracuse University students help bring to Syracuse’s inner city youth with ‘Hoops for Peace,’ a basketball program for kids living in downtown Syracuse.

Syracuse Inner City Rotary Club’s (SICRC) basketball tournament begins March 1. The club’s founder, Theardis Martino, calls basketball ‘a good, clean sport,’ that uses fun to teach important lessons to Syracuse’s youth.

Students from Syracuse’s public schools volunteer to participate in the program.

Expecting approximately 160 kids to participate this year, Martino accredits the SU volunteers for the program’s growth. ‘We’ve had such open arms from Syracuse University. It’s certainly grown,’ he said.

The program, originally entitled ‘Hoops not Guns,’ started more than six years ago amidst a plague of youth violence in the city of Syracuse. The SICRC program seeks to ‘bring kids into the gym and off of the streets,’ with the help of student volunteers and various speakers, Martino said.

The four-on-four games are held every Saturday in March at local high schools and community centers. Each week, speakers reach out to the kids, 11 to 15 years old, giving lessons like ‘stay in school’ and ‘listen to your parents,’ Martino said.

SU student referees and volunteers help spread the same message. ‘We want the kids to see people just like them who stayed out of trouble and went on to seek a higher education,’ Martino said.

The program’s goals are to ‘learn, grow, play ball.’

Rachel Gazdick, the program’s co-chair and the director of SU’s Office of Community Engagement and Interactive Learning, said SU student volunteers are the key to carrying out the program’s goals.

Student referees and timekeepers assist the kids in basketball fundamentals and also teach the youths about different career fields such as law, journalism and art.

‘Students talk about what they’ll be when they grow up to expose the kids to new possibilities other than just doctor or teacher,’ Gazdick said.

The children involved in the program have another chance to interact with SU students and athletes at the championship, to be held at the historic Manley Field House. The SU men’s and women’s basketball teams, the cheerleaders and Otto the Orange will join in the final game April 5, she said. All students are welcome.

The program concludes April 8, with college night at Hendricks Chapel. Students give the kids tours of campus, dorms and classrooms as they talk about their college experiences.

SICRC president Khalid El Bey has also noticed the success in his mission to keep Syracuse kids off the streets. ‘The goal is to create familiarity with the youth in the community,’ he said. ‘This may be the best year so far.’

To Bey, the familiarity that forms not only among Syracuse’s inner city youth but also with SU students is beneficial for everyone. The kids are off the violent streets and are learning about opportunities for their future, Bey said.

It’s also a learning experience for the students, he said. ‘They’re getting a feel for the community surrounding campus and learning how they can affect the youth.’

SU’s Office of Community Engagement and Interactive Learning is still looking for student volunteers. Those interested should stop by the office in Hendricks Chapel or e-mail Rachel Gazdick at ragazdic@syr.edu.

Published on January 31, 2008 at 12:00 pm