When asked why he chose to support PeacePlayers, RJ said:

“I was looking for a cool fun sports mitzvah project and I read about [PeacePlayers] and it sounded really interesting. My project was unique to me because it supported a cause that shared my love of basketball.”

RJ used his Mitzvah Tournament as a fun way to spread the word concerning PeacePlayers and the work the organization does in using sport as a vehicle to bridge divides between Jewish and Arab youth in the Israel and the West Bank. He urged friends and family members to make donations to PeacePlayers in honor of his bar mitzvah via Razoo.com.

PPI would like to thank RJ for organizing such a wonderful event! We would also like to thank all the friends and family members who supported RJ and his interest in PeacePlayers International. In total, RJ raised more than $5,000 to support the organization! Thank you RJ!

If you would like to support PeacePlayers International for your bar or bat mitzvah, please contact Hannah Sloss at hsloss@peaceplayersintl.org.

Emma (left) at her friend Brooke's (right) bat mitzvah.

Many students in the US have chosen to support PPI for their bar and bat mitzvahs, asking family and friends to donate to the organization in honor of their special day. However, as Emma from Ellicott City, Maryland proves, you don’t have to be a bar or bat mitzvah to commemorate the event with PPI. Emma, a Quaker Christian,  made a donation to PeacePlayers as gifts to three of her friends in honor of their bat mitzvahs. To learn a bit more about Emma’s project, please read the interview below:

Hi Emma, please tell our readers a little bit about yourself:

I am a 13 year old Middle School student in the 8^th grade.  In my spare time, I love to read, act in plays when I have the opportunity, and hang out with my friends.

How did you find out about PeacePlayers International (PPI)?

I found out about PeacePlayers through my Quaker Meeting when one of the founders (Brendan Tuohey) came to talk to the first day (Sunday school) school students.

Why did you decide to give donations to PPI for your friends’ bat mitzvahs?

I decided to donate to PeacePlayers as a gift for my friends’ bat mitzvahs because of their work in Israel and Palestine. I thought it was a great charity that directly related to the event. I hoped it would interest my friends and make them more aware about ways they can help other children to have a more peaceful and happy life.

What have been your friends’ reactions to their presents?

Many girls my age a really into material things, such as clothes and jewelry, so I was surprised at how many girls came up to me after their bat mitzvah and said how cool they thought my gift was. I don’t think many of them knew much about the conflict in Israel and Palestine, and they really appreciated getting to learn about it and what people are doing to help.  They were able to relate to the situation after learning some about Israel in preparation for their bat mitzvah.

Do you have any advice for others that want to do what you have done?

Donating to PeacePlayers was very easy. My parents were able to donate online. The staff of PeacePlayers was very nice and put together amazing packets explaining what they do, and I was able to give them to my friends. The gift was stress free and I didn’t have to worry about getting a different present for each girl.

PPI would like to thank Emma for her support! We truly appreciate the creative way Emma found to celebrate this important rite of passage with her Jewish friends.

If you would like to donate to PeacePlayers International in honor of your friend’s upcoming event, please click here and designate your gift in the comments section. You may also contact Hannah Sloss at hsloss@peaceplayersintl.org.

On June 7th, Alice Deal Middle School in Washington, DC held their annual “Give Back Day,” a day to raise awareness about service and support student-selected causes. Deal’s 6th grade students voted to support PeacePlayers International as one of the projects for Give Back Day by holding a basketball tournament. The 6th graders held the tournament in their school’s gym and invited radio DJ Aladdin to emcee the event; ultimately raising close to $500 for PPI. The event was so successsful, Deal plans to partner with PPI again for a school-wide fundraiser this fall. We would like to commend Deal Middle School’s incredible culture of service and thank the 6th graders for supporting our mission of using basketball to bridge divide, develop leaders, and change perceptions around the world. Thank you!

If you would like to get involved and support PPI by hosting an event at your school, please contact Hannah Sloss at hsloss@peaceplayersintl.org.

The mini-camp, which saw Stevens Men’s Basketball players work individually with student-athletes on shooting and ball-handling skills, benefited PeacePlayers International. Gimme That Chief Executive Mike Nattis spoke to the attendees about the power of basketball in resolving deep-seated societal divides. Overall, the fundraiser was great success, raising over $700 for PPI’s programs bridging divides around the world.

PPI would like to thank Mike Nattis and Gimme That for organizing and executing such a great event. It means a lot to us that there are companies like Gimme That that support our work of bridging divides through sport. Thank you!

Here at PeacePlayers International, we count ourselves lucky to have such good friends who want to support our mission. Check out what our friends have been doing to support PeacePlayers International in April:

First, PPI would like to thank Mercedes Fitchett for hosting a successful house party to benefit PPI. Many people came out to support in spite driving rain and tornado warnings. Guests participated in a raffle to win prizes like Adidas gear, a RiRa Irish Pub gift certificate and Nationals tickets. In total, the event raised $800 for PPI! Thanks again to Mercedes and friends for supporting PPI!

Next, we would like to thank AGAINN Tavern that is featuring two special deserts in honor of the Royal Wedding from now until April 29^th. The featured deserts are chocolate biscuit cake (a favorite of Prince William) as well as a Fruit Cake (the traditional Royal Wedding cake) and 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the cakes are going to PeacePlayers International!

Thanks again to AGAINN Tavern and Mercedes Fitchett and friends for supporting PPI! And get to AGAINN to get some Royal Wedding Cake before it’s too late!

Alex (far right) speaks to attendees before his event begins.

Inspired by the project of a family friend, Alex recently held a 3×3 basketball tournament to help raise money and awareness for PeacePlayers International, with proceeds benefiting PPI’s sites in South Africa and the Middle East. The tournament was complemented by games of Knockout, Champions, a Challenge Course and more, and Alex also raffled off several gift cards donated by local businesses.

The sponsors who helped Alex reach his goals.

Due to support from his friends and family, he exceeded his attendance goal of 30 people and his fundraising goal of $400, netting a total of $751, which he elected to donate to PPI-ME and PPI-SA.

Said Alex:

“I would recommend this experience to a friend because it was a lot of fun to have the tournament with all my friends and give back to other kids at the same time.”

Thanks to Alex, the Myers family, the Fink family and all the community members who turned out in Gaithersburg for a great event!

Zac Emanuel

Today, we’d like to highlight one of the most successful such initiatives that PPI has seen to date, organized by Zac Emanuel of Providence, Rhode Island. Seeking an opportunity to combine several of his passions, Zac and his parents learned about PPI through a website called The Mitzvah Bowl, which highlights all kinds of potential Bar and Bat Mitzvah projects for socially minded young people.

Zac’s now in the process of organizing a 3-on-3 tournament in his hometown to raise funds and awareness for PPI. In preparation for the event, he set up his own fundraising page on Razoo.com, and pointed his friends and family there to give them an opportunity to support PPI’s work.

“As Golda Meir said, ‘We will have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us.’ That works for both sides…It is this effort – to educate and get rid of hatred through basketball - that lead me to choose [PPI] as my Mitzvah project. Your donations will help bring these kids together to show them that fighting is not the answer. Your donations will help bring peace to these areas, perhaps now, and definitely in the future, when the kids that have experienced PeacePlayers International teach their kids.”

- Zac Emanuel, on his Razoo fundraising page

After only a few weeks, the response has been truly overwhelming. After launching just after the New Year, by January 18th Zac has raised well $4,859 for PPI! That’s a fantastic contribution, nearly enough to support one team for an entire semester – and with his tournament scheduled for the Spring, he’s not done yet.

The video Zac chose to embed on his project page.

PPI is deeply grateful to Zac, his parents, his family – which generously agreed to sign on as a “Title Sponsor” for the project – and all those who have decided to help this amazing young leader realize his vision.

We look forward to updating you again on this project as it continues to progress!

PPI Fellow Rory O'Neil and his friends on New Years' Eve counting raffle tickets.

At 12:01AM, PeacePlayers received their first donation thanks to two-year fellow in Northern Ireland, Rory O’Neil and some very generous friends.

After a two-year term in Northern Ireland, Rory took time off to head to Cleveland, OH to visit former college friends and teammates and celebrate the New Year at an old college bar with a 50/50 raffle. Since the raffle helped raise money for local Cleveland charities, Rory thought it would be a great idea if they could do another for PeacePlayers International. Upon arriving at the event Chrissy Smaldone, a friend of Rory’s, informed him that $5 from every party-goer in addittion to the 50/50 intake would be donated to PeacePlayers.

At the end of the night, it was announced that Margot Woolley (the girlfriend of Rory’s brother) won the raffle. She instantly declared that her winnings would be given to PeacePlayers. Thanks to Margot and Chrissy, PeacePlayers received their first donation of 2011 of $500 which can go a long way in every one of our locations. Thanks to everyone in Cleveland for ringing in the New Year with PPI!

Rory and Margot

For more information visit our blog: http://peaceplayersintl.wordpress.com/

The Shane Family (Photo: Canadian Jewish News)

Due to his love for basketball and desire for world peace, Daniel Shane, a boy from Toronto, Ontario, chose to team up with PeacePlayers International for a project to accompany his Bar Miztvah.

Reports the Canadian Jewish News:

“I was trying to find an organization that combines my favourite thing to do, which is basketball, and create a difference in the world in some way,” he said. “I did a bunch of research with my dad, and after a few weeks of searching, we found Peace Players International.”

Since beginning his relationship with PPI, Daniel has collected $2,000 and 80 basketballs, which he wishes to send directly to the Middle East.

Daniel has been involved with PPI in more than one way. When PPI heard about his interest, they put him in touch with three children in the program in the Middle East, which Daniel has been in close contact with through e-mail. He’ll travel to Israel later this year to meet his new friends.

Daniel also made a presentation to his school about PPI’s work, which you can see here.

For more on his story, visit the Canadian Jewish News.

The Lipman Family

As we’ve written before, this year PPI – Middle East has entered the first two teams ever with participants from both East and West Jerusalem in Israeli’s National Basketball League, the highest level of youth basketball in the country. The younger of these two teams (7th and 8th graders) recently played a game against Shoham that was no ordinary match. For starters, the PPI – ME girls (nicknamed the “Jerusalem All Stars”) had some difficulty playing their regular game. For most of the game they trailed behind, until finally they managed to take the lead and finish strong, earning another home win.

Despite trailing behind most of the game, the PPI-ME All-Stars won the match

But there was something else unusual. The home team stands at the Hand in Hand School in Jerusalem were packed with avid supporters of PPI-ME’s team. These fans yelled “D-Fense!,” cheered each bucket and analyzed every move in the game. These supporters were the Lipman family.

This Spring, Reed Lipman, a 12-year-old boy from New York, was trying to think of a tikkun olam project to accompany his Bar Mitzvah, when his dad returned from Play Hard Hoops’Masters Madness tournament in Milwaukee, which supported PeacePlayers International and was attended by PPI Executive Director Brendan Tuohey.  The father told his son about PPI, and Reed was so taken by the idea that he decided to make supporting PPI his Bar Mitzvah project. Specifically, he resolved to do three things:

1. He would research the organization and learn of its objectives and activities, particularly in the Middle East.
2. He would raise awareness for his chosen cause among friends and family.
3. He would ask invitees to his Bar Mitzvah to donate to PPI – ME in lieu of gifts.

Reed Lipman

Reed and his family came to Israel this December as part of their Bar Mitzvah celebrations. Naturally, we at PPI – ME were excited to hear this and made Reed and his family guests of honor at one of our highest profile events, an All Stars league match. These matches are ongoing and concrete evidence that the “PPI Way” works, and that youth from segregated communities can become not only teammates, but also good friends. For Reed, coming to the game was not only about seeing the game he loves in a different light, but also about seeing that his project would have a major impact. The family also noted their desire to see something that was “real” during their stay – something that was not “touristy” as the Lipmans put it – that illustrates what life is like in this part of the world.

Reed and the girls embarked on a spontaneous game.

After the game was over an excited Reed was taken by PPI – ME Managing Director Karen Doubilet to say hello to the girls. Their shared passion for the game of basketball was obvious and it wasn’t long before the Lipmans and the PPI – ME girls began a spontaneous match.

PPI – ME would like to wish a happy Bar Mitzvah to Reed Lipman and to thank him and his family for coming to see us, for their interest in our program, and for their generosity.

This project is partially made possible by the generous support of the American people through USAID.