Congratulations to the Irish Club of La Jolla High School, our Third Hall of Famer!

March 15, 2010

The Irish Club of La Jolla High School, out in full force.

Congratulations to the Irish Club of La Jolla High School, in La Jolla, California, our third official members of the PPI Sixth Man and Woman Hall of Fame.

The Irish Club of La Jolla High School, led by Bo and Will Peterson, has supported PPI – Northern Ireland for several years, in any number of ways – from participating in St. Patrick Day parades, to hosting bake sales, to organizing concerts with authentic Irish bands, to performing what we understand was an uncanny Temptations impersonation in a local air band competition.

All in all, the Irish Club has raised over $3,500 for PPI – NI, but just as important have been their steadfast efforts to raise awareness for the work of PPI – NI in their community. We applaud the Club on their accomplishments thus far, and congratulate them on entering the Sixth Man and Woman Hall of Fame!

On behalf of all the participants of PPI-NI, thank you!!!

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Thank you to the St. Thomas More School!

February 9, 2010

Want to support PeacePlayers International? Check out the end of this post to learn how you can help PPI bridge divides around the world for free with just two simple clicks.


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PeacePlayers International would like to thank the St. Thomas More School, in Oakdale, Connecticut, for its longtime support. St. Thomas More School’s ties to PPI go back to 2007, when the school held the first of what has thus far been four annual fundraisers on behalf of PeacePlayers International.

Since that first event, St. Thomas More School has raised over $3,000 to support PeacePlayers International’s work worldwide. To put that in perspective, $3,000 can roughly cover the year-round costs of eight participants in Israel and the West Bank. The St. Thomas More School Community’s generosity has allowed four more Arab and four more Jewish young people to play together and learn together in pursuit of a more peaceful future.

Matt Quinn in his PPI-ME days, horsing around with an integrated team from Beit Shemesh and Esawiah.

The efforts at St. Thomas More have been led by Jere Quinn, a math teacher and the Varsity basketball team’s head coach, who has “honed the basketball and life skills of top players for three decades,” according to the Hartford Courant.

St. Thomas More has also played a more direct role in our programs by way of one of its alumni, Matt Quinn (Jere’s son), who played a leading role as a PeacePlayers International Fellow in the Middle East and Northern Ireland. You can read Matt’s thoughts about his experience in Northern Ireland here (“The American Director,” at the left).

Want to take a simple action to support PeacePlayers International?  We’re now eligible for inclusion in the latest edition of CauseWorld, a mobile app that lets you earn “karmas” – badges backed up by donations from Citi and Kraft – for your favorite causes just by visiting your own local hangouts. Vote for PPI to be one of three new Causes included in this round. (You can find us fourth from the bottom of the list on the right.) There’s no registration required and, with just a few seconds of your time, you’ll help others support PPI for a lifetime!

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Thank You to Donnie Walter and Gonzaga College High School

December 4, 2009

Gonzaga College High School, near Union Station, in Washington, DC.

PeacePlayers International would like to thank Donnie Walter and Gonzaga College High School for hosting a benefit tournament for PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland. Donnie, one of the first official PeacePlayers International Sixth Men and Women, did an outstanding job organizing the tournament from start to finish, securing t-shirts, (delicious) pizza for the players, a snack bar, support from the Gonzaga Mothers’ Club, a DJ, and professional referees.

The event was a huge success, raising over $500 with 14 teams participating. As the event was held in Gonzaga’s gym, only a few miles from PPI’s headquarters in Washington, DC, PPI’s Executive Director Brendan Tuohey, himself a Gonzaga alum, stopped by to thank the players and say a few words. Most importantly, the event energized the entire Gonzaga school community, featuring players from all grades and even one player from Gonzaga’s perennial powerhouse varsity basketball team (ranked the 20th best high school basketball team in the country by USA Today).

Donnie had a camera on hand to film the event, and he and his friends are working on putting together a highlight reel to show off their work – we’ll be sure to post it here on The Sixth Man when completed.

PeacePlayers International would like to thank all the players, Gonzaga’s Athletic Director Joe Reyda, The Tramonte Family and the Italian Store, Lee Walter and the Gonzaga College High School Mother’s Club, the referees, and the entire Gonzaga community. We would also like to wish Gonzaga the best of luck in its basketball and hockey seasons.

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Help PPI win $1 million!

November 18, 2009

Click here to vote now and help PeacePlayers International improve this child's future.

We’re no stranger to the power of competition at PeacePlayers International. Every day, we see competition and teamwork forging friendships where they were unheard of before – among Jewish and Arab children in Jerusalem, or Catholics and Protestants in Belfast, or Greek- and Turkish-Cypriots in Cyprus, or blacks, whites and Indians in South Africa. We know firsthand the power of competition to urge us to something greater.

We’ve just entered a competition of our own, and a win would mean quite a bit to the organization. Chase Community Giving recently announced it would be awarding $5 million to over 100 organizations – and YOU decide who wins. Please take just one minute and click here to vote for PeacePlayers International.

The top 100 vote-getters will each win $25,000 in the competition’s first round, with a potential for greater prizes – up to $1 mil. – after that. At PPI, $25,000 is about enough to support one PeacePlayers International Fellow, or as many as FOUR integrated teams for a semester. That’s nearly FIFTY children given a unique opportunity to make friendships across generations-old divides through basketball.

So please vote. Then, forward this note to your friends to ask them to help out too. Facebook, Twitter, Change.org – wherever you are, we hope you’ll carry our message with you. With your support, we can make an even bigger impact worldwide.

Thank you in advance!

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Congrats to our 2nd Hall of Famer, The Langley High School Saxons

November 11, 2009
LangleySaxons

The Langley Saxons, with Head Coach Cheryl Buffo

PPI would like to congratulate the 2nd official member of our Sixth Man and Woman Hall of Fame, Langley High School, in McLean, Virginia

Led by Basketball Operations Director Jay Kuhn, Langley High School’s varsity girls’ basketball team hosted the First Annual PeacePlayers Invitational Tournament at their gym in McLean, Va., in December 2008. The Langley Saxons faced off against the South County Stallions, the Hayfield Lady Hawks, and Langley’s cross-town rivals, the McLean Highlanders. Over two nights, the tournament raised more than $3,000 for PeacePlayers International and introduced its mission of using sports for social change to hundreds in the town’s athletic community.

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Update: Irish Club of La Jolla High School and Captain Mackey’s Goatskin and String Band

October 20, 2009
Captain Mackey's Goatskin and String Band

Captain Mackey's Goatskin and String Band

The Irish Club of La Jolla High School has recently informed us of a change to their planned November event. The artists previously scheduled to perform, The Muses, had to cancel their date. However, Club will instead present Captain Mackey’s Goatskin and String Band, two men who, in the words of their website, “have given their whole lives to the promulgation and nurture of the ballad.”

Captain Mackey’s Goatskin and String Band will be playing at La Jolla High School on November 3rd, from 7pm to 9pm at night. Tickets cost $5 for adults and $3 for seniors and minors. Proceeds will benefit PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland.

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PPI Needs YOU to be a Team Captain

October 12, 2009

Interested in getting involved with PeacePlayers International? Sign up to be a Team Captain. Team Captains are our official ambassadors to the community at large. When you sign up to be a Team Captain, you commit to working closely with PPI staff to help raise the organization’s profile in your own town and support its programs overseas. This structured program also offers official Team Captains unique opportunities to learn about PPI, what we do, and how it works. If you’re interested in becoming a Team Captain, contact PPI’s Development and Communications Associate, Brian Cognato,at 202-639-6632 or bcognato[at]peaceplayersintl.org for more information.

Click here to see the full-size flyer.

Click here to see the full-size flyer.

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The Irish Club of La Jolla High School

August 4, 2009

R-HOF_LaJolla_082209PeacePlayers International would like to thank the Irish Club of La Jolla High School and its President, Will Peterson. During the 2008-2009 school year, the Club organized a bake sale, sold t-shirts, and assisted at the La Jolla St. Patrick’s Day Parade, cumulatively raising over $500 for PeacePlayers International’s Northern Ireland branch. The Club, which also contributed to PPI in 2008, is planning a concert with the traditional Irish singing group The Muses this November.

About PeacePlayers International: PeacePlayers International is an international nonprofit that uses basketball to unite and educate young people and their communities. To learn more, please visit www.peaceplayersintl.org.

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The Clayton High School World Language Club

June 3, 2009

PeacePlayers International would like to thank the World Language Club of Clayton High School, in Clayton, New Jersey, which organized a fundraiser in partnership with the school’s branch of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The Club, led by Faculty Advisor Sharon Blutinger, raised $260 for PeacePlayers International.

About PeacePlayers International: PeacePlayers International is an international nonprofit that uses basketball to unite and educate young people and their communities. To learn more, please visit www.peaceplayersintl.org.

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Ethan Bettinger and Keene Middle School

April 13, 2009

keene1PeacePlayers International would like to thank Ethan Bettinger, Mrs. Grove and the Eighth Grade class at Keene Middle School, in Keene, New Hampshire. When the class was searching for a community service project they could all do together, Ethan introduced them to PeacePlayers International, to whom he had previously donated a portion of the gifts he received for his Bar Mitzvah. Led by Mrs. Grove, the class organized an intramural tournament that raised $170 for PeacePlayers International, and was spotlighted by the local newspaper, The Keene Sentinel.

About PeacePlayers International: PeacePlayers International is an international nonprofit that uses basketball to unite and educate young people and their communities. To learn more, please visit www.peaceplayersintl.org.

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