Zack and Max’s March Madness Tip Off Event a Great Success!

April 17, 2013
Kids Playing for Peace

Kids Playing for Peace at the Samberg Bar Mitzvah Tournament

Two incredible PeacePlayers Sixth Men, 12 year old Max Samberg and his 14 year old brother Zack, along with their family and friends, enjoyed a day of basketball last month to support PPI.  In honor of their Bar Mitzvahs, they hosted an awesome basketball tournament at the Carver Center in Port Chester, just outside of New York.  For an hour and a half children ran around the court making buckets, having fun, all while supporting children just like them learn to play the game they love.

Together, they set up a Fundraising Page on FirstGiving, and  raised over $2,000 dollars to help  children in Israel and the West Bank  play basketball for peace. During the event, Max said, “PeacePlayers is a great organization!  I’m happy that we surpassed our goal and am thankful for everyone who came out and supported us.” Zack added that “It was great to see how many kids turned out for such a good cause.  I’m excited to see where the money we raised is going when we see PeacePlayers in action in Israel over the summer.”

Check out this great video of Zack speaking to the group before the event:

Zack Speaks

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Peace on the Hudson River

April 5, 2013
Players pose after a boisterous game

Players pose after a boisterous game

The following story is by PeacePlayers International supporter and Sixth Woman, Laura Light. 

On Thursday March 14th, the 5th grade boys and girls in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY competed in a charity basketball tournament to raise money for their new favorite cause – PeacePlayers International.  Prior to the event, the kids researched and brainstormed the best way to give back to the world through basketball, a beloved sport in this small rivertown community.  They decided that supporting PeacePlayers (in its effort to use basketball to inspire, educate, and resolve conflict) would do just that!

The kids (all of whom play in either the rec or CYO leagues in Hastings) displayed great sportsmanship and had lots of fun from beginning to end.  The game was reffed by a local celebrity, Steve Tuber, the head of the rec league in town.  To even out the score, it was decided that each boy’s basket would count as 1 point and each girl’s basket as 2 points.  The boys – clearly NOT-the-crowd-favorites despite their amazing skills and new white t-shirts designed just for the event – took an early lead, and after the first half, were winning by 6 points.  But after a hard-fought second half (and a lot of wildly enthusiastic cheering from the crowd and the bench), the girls came back and won by 1 point (22-21), when a last-second attempt didn’t fall for the boys team.  In between each quarter in keeping with the light-hearted, community-minded spirit of the event, the kids participated in various entertaining games including a free-throw shooting contest, a relay race, and a behind-the-back shot.  And after the game, the players all celebrated together with pizza.

Without a doubt, this will become an annual event in the Hastings-on-Hudson community, and we look forward to supporting PeacePlayers for years to come!

If you are interested in becoming a PeacePlayers Sixth Man or Woman, visit the “Get Involved” page of our website.

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Thanks to Vance Walter and Gonzaga College High School!

October 25, 2010

This Saturday, October 23rd, Vance Walter, a junior at Gonzaga College High School, organized a three-on-three tournament to benefit PeacePlayers International. This year is the tournament’s second annual installment, after Vance’s older brother, Donnie, pioneered the event last year.

Gonzaga College High School is a Jesuit-administered private school just a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC.

Vance pulled together 14 teams of three or four players each from throughout Gonzaga, freshmen through seniors, each making a donation of $15 per head. Community businesses chipped in with food and drinks, t-shirts and more. At the end of the day, all proceeds went to support PeacePlayers International’s programs around the world using basketball to unite and educate children in divided communities.

Gonzaga reliably has one of the best high school basketball programs in the country, and it showed in the quality of play on Saturday.

In all, the event raised $910 for PPI, surpassing last year’s total of $526. That’s almost enough to support two children in our program for an entire year!

For photos from the event, check out our Sixthman page on Picasa.

PPI is extremely grateful to Vance, Gonzaga College High School and everyone who helped out with the event: Patrick and Jack McCarty, Curt Gupton, the Walter Family, the Gupton Family, the McCarty Family, the Gonzaga Mothers Club, Adventures in Advertising, Gupton Associates, and The Italian Store.


The group entering the quarterfinals. In all, nearly 50 players came out to support PPI.

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Thank You to Theresa Verzosa!

March 19, 2010

Theresa (right) in Durban with PPI-SA

PeacePlayers International would like thank Theresa Verzosa for choosing to support PPI – South Africa with her participation in the DC National Half Marathon on Saturday, March 20th. Theresa volunteered with PPI-SA in the Fall of 2008, and we’re extremely grateful for her willingness to give back. Writes Theresa on her Firstgiving page:

In the Fall of 2008, I was fortunate enough to work with PeacePlayers International in Durban, South Africa. I experienced first-hand the profound impact PPI has on its staff, children, families, and communities. Nonetheless, the framework of this organization is shaped by some of the most generous and kind people who opened their homes and their hearts to me, who shared their children and their families with me, and (my favorite) who I cooked and ate traditional meals with over endless storytelling and laughter– all after lots of lifeskill lessons and basketball…Many thanks and high-fives and hugs for your support.

Theresa even put together a wonderful video from her time in Durban to help introduce her friends and family to the program:

Thanks to these efforts, Theresa has already reached her goal of raising $2,000 for PPI – South Africa!

PeacePlayers International would like to extend its deepest gratitude to Theresa for her work on our behalf, and wish her the best of luck in the race on Saturday. Go get ‘em, Theresa!

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PPI in NYC

March 1, 2010

The Harlem Wizards: Fine Purveyors of "Trick Hoopz and Alley Oops"

We’ve written about the PPI Fellowship alumni here on the Sixth Man before, and today we’re proud to announce a new initiative sparked by the energy and enthusiasm of our former Fellows. On Sunday, March 21st, the Harlem Wizards will be playing the Safe Haven All-Stars at Columbia University’s Dodge Physical Fitness Center. This event has been organized by Danny Ourian, who spent two years working with PeacePlayers International – Middle East, and now works with the Safe Haven West Side Basketball League, which provides safe supervised recreational activity during the winter months for children in New York.

Danny, representing PPI - ME in NYC

The Harlem Wizards are one of the greatest basketball shows in the country, promising “Trick Hoopz and Alley Oops” at each one of their events, with a stock of talent that includes former players from the Harlem Globetrotters, several NCAA D-I schools and more, all determined to wow fans and put the best exhibition of basketball talent on display.

Tickets are $10 in advance for all comers, $12 at the door for children and $15 at the door for adults, and, thanks to the generosity of Safe Haven and the Wizards, proceeds will benefit PeacePlayers International.

With the combined energy of the Harlem Wizards, Safe Haven Hoops, and PPI, tickets are sure to move quickly. PPI will also have both former and current staff on-site to talk about their experiences with the program. If you’re in the New York area and looking for an opportunity to connect with PPI or learn more – or if you just want to see some exciting hoops on the Upper West Side – get your tickets now.

See the press release after the break for more information.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Thank You to Toma Beit-Arie

November 30, 2009

Toma Beit-Arie, budding baller and activist.

PeacePlayers International would like to thank Toma Beit-Arie and the Beit-Arie Shlonsky Family for their generous support of PeacePlayers International – Middle East (PPI – ME). After learning about PPI from a former PPI – Cyprus Program Director, Joshua Motenko, Toma asked his friends and family to make donations to PPI – ME in honor of his Bar Mitzvah this November. In addition to raising well over $1,000 for PPI – ME (more than enough to support two participants in our Twinning program in the Middle East for an entire year), Toma and his family distributed DVDs and flyers to share PPI – ME’s mission with their community in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Later this year, Toma and his family will be traveling to the Middle East, and hope to visit our programs to see what their generosity is helping accomplish.

We’re sincerely grateful to Toma, his friends, and his family for their wonderful support!

To learn more about how you can support PeacePlayers International through your Bar or Bat Mitzvah, contact Development and Communications Associate Brian Cognato at bcognato@peaceplayersintl.org.

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