WASHINGTON, D.C. – Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation has partnered with the Hoops for Youth Foundation to help refurbish a basketball court at Horton’s Kids that will be unveiled later this year. The community center located in Ward 8 currently hosts the only basketball court for kids in that community.
“We are excited about this new relationship with Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation,” stated chairman of the Hoops For Youth Foundation Paul Miller. “Their commitment to the kids of D.C. and to rebuilding this court is so important to the lives of these kids. This court represents another opportunity for them to use the skills they develop on this court in the classroom and their daily lives.”
More than 500 children from the neighborhood (where the average annual income is $10,000) will be able to use the new court. Volunteers at Horton’s Kids use basketball as a way to provide leadership and empower the children in the community. The $50,000 grant provided by MSE Foundation will allow Horton’s Kids to continue to reach as many kids as possible.
“We are very excited to have these wonderful partners come together and respond to a community need in Ward 8,” said Brenda Chamberlain, executive director of Horton’s Kids. “It’s a great feeling knowing there is a safe space where these kids can be kids in their own neighborhood and I’m personally looking forward to seeing their reactions when the basketball court is unveiled.”
This will be the first court refurbishment by MSE Foundation as it recently supported the efforts of KaBOOM! for a playground build at Eagle Academy Public Charter School in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
“MSE Foundation is thrilled to fund our first basketball court refurbishment project with the Hoops for Youth Foundation at Horton’s Kids,” said Elizabeth Wodatch, executive director of MSE Foundation. “The organization and the neighborhood it serves deserve a safe place where children can play. We hope this is the first of many court refurbishment projects funded by our foundation.”
Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation
Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation supports the charitable efforts of the professional teams under its umbrella: the Washington Capitals, Mystics and Wizards. MSE is committed to the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and focuses on the following five pillars to maximize its impact on the community: education and scholarship, hunger and homelessness, military and veterans’ affairs, pediatric health and fitness and youth basketball and hockey.
Hoops for Youth Foundation
Hoops for Youth Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports at-risk kids in our communities. Hoops for Youth Foundation provides the most basic tools that young people need to help them play team sports and face the many challenges of growing up in communities plagued by poverty and crime. Through our efforts we offer kids, who may not get the love and support they need at home, an opportunity to grow and develop in a safe environment.
Horton’s Kids
Horton’s Kids is a 25-year-old, 501(c)(3) organization that serves more than 500 youth and their families from the Wellington Park and Stanton Oaks neighborhoods in Washington, DC’s Ward 8. Our wrap-around services include a variety of education, enrichment, advocacy, and support programs. Horton’s Kids’ thrice-weekly tutoring and mentoring program takes place in the Rayburn House Office Building and the U.S. Department of Education. Horton’s Kids’ programs are made possible by more than 500 dedicated volunteers, many of whom work on Capitol Hill. More information is available at www.hortonskids.org.