IMPACT Basketball Tournament

Posted by on April 09, 2012

Arcadia University Hosts IMPACT Basketball Tournament to Benefit International Peace Organization, April 18

Arcadia University hosts IMPACT’s first annual Hoops for Hope, a 3 vs. 3 Basketball Tournament benefiting Sports4HOPE and Arcadia University’s chapter of IMPACT on Wednesday, April 18, from 6 to 11:30 p.m. in Kuch Center Gymnasium. The fundraising event is open to the public; a $5 donation is suggested. Arcadia University is located at 450 S. Easton Road, Glenside, Pa.

Three-person teams comprised of Arcadia’s faculty, staff, students and alumni will go head-to-head to benefit the two non-profit organizations connected to the University. Seventy percent of the funds raised benefits Sports4HOPE, a non-profit organization currently on the ground in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), working to prevent and reconcile conflicts by inspiring hope, improving the quality of life, and empowering youth in conflict-affected areas through sport and peace education. The organization was originally conceived for a class project by Stephen Reynard, Rachel Brophy and Selina Coleman, three 2010 graduates of Arcadia University’s Master’s Program in International Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR). Thirty percent of the funds will benefit Arcadia’s chapter of IMPACT (Intelligent Men-of-Color Purposefully Accomplishing College Together), a multicultural men’s organization which works to mentor youth toward a path of college success. IMPACT was co-founded by IPCR student Stephen Tyson (‘13) in 2004 to provide a support network for individuals enrolled in higher education. The event will also include a clothing drive for Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission, with garments to be distributed at both their homeless and women’s shelters. Donations also will be accepted at the event.

The event is part of an experiential learning initiative for current Arcadia IPCR course, Non-Governmental Organization Management, instructed by Dr. Maryam Deloffre, Assistant Director of Arcadia’s IPCR program. With her guidance, students have applied theories and frameworks of nonprofit strategic management and leadership to real-world problems and for the fundraising module have consulted for Sports4HOPE.

“[Sports4HOPE is] in danger of being kicked out of the DRC because they’re a small organization and they don’t have a lot of funds,” says Kaitlin Rattigan, a graduate student in the IPCR program who is currently taking NGO Management. “When we received their email reaching out to their donor pool, we thought, ‘we’re doing strategic finance planning for NGOs, let’s try to do this.’”

The class examined all the organization’s data, from fundraisers and private donations to strategic alliances they’ve made with fellow organizations both in the U.S. and abroad. They’ve emerged with a short and long term plan, and with a little support, a solution for Sports4HOPE.

“It feels great to be reconnected with Arcadia’s IPCR program,” says Co-Founder, Reynard. “Sports4HOPE was developed at Arcadia University and heavily influenced by the instruction I received there. I feel like both Sports4HOPE and the IPCR program have a lot to gain and learn from each other. I would love for IPCR students to be able to contribute to Sports4HOPE and connect with war-torn communities in Eastern DRC. There is such a huge need for intelligent and informed people in the development and peace building processes of the severely underdeveloped Democratic Republic of the Congo. University students and professors alike have an important role to play and I am excited to see how and in what ways IPCR students and professors can be involved in our mission to bring hope to war-torn communities through sport and peace education.”

The Tournament is co-sponsored Arcadia University’s IPCR program, the Black Male Development Symposium (BMDS), and several of Arcadia’s student club groups, including the Black Awareness Society, POWER, For The Women and the Society for the Advancement of Business Administration.

About Arcadia University: Arcadia University is a top-ranked private university in metropolitan Philadelphia and a national leader in study abroad and international education. The 2011 Open Doors report ranks Arcadia University a top leader in the nation in undergraduate study abroad. U.S. News & World Report ranks Arcadia University among the top regional universities in the North and as one of the top study abroad programs. U.S. News also ranks Arcadia’s Physical Therapy program among the top 15 in the nation. Arcadia University promises a distinctively global, integrative and personal learning experience that prepares students to contribute and prosper in a diverse and dynamic world. (http://www.arcadia.edu)