SEEDSSUMMER 2012 RECAP
ACADEMICUPDATE SPORTSUNITED | SEEDS CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM NBABWBAFRICA HUSKIESVISITSEEDS
2012SUMMERSUMMARY 250 kids served first WNBA Player visits SEEDS
Brooklyn Nets star drops by record 100% of students pass the French BAC exam
SEEDS Alum bring his college team home
WHYSEEDS? only 26% of kids attend Middle School only
11% of kids attend High School
only
5% of kids attend College
2.7M children do not attend school
SEEDS | AT A GLANCE Overview: SEEDS is a 501(c)(3) youth education sports non-profit that uses basketball as a hook to engage underserved Senegalese youth in educational opportunities. SEEDS serves over 500 Senegalese youth annually through basketball clinics, leadership development and educational programming. SEEDS core program, SEEDS Academy, is a college preparatory program (grades 9-12) that provides Senegalese boys with a place to live, study, and train in basketball year-round. Mission: SEEDS seeks to “use sports as a vehicle to inspire, empower and support the holistic development of promising African youth, preparing them to become global citizens and lead positive transformation in Senegal, Africa and the world.” SEEDS Success: Since its inception in 2002, SEEDS impact has been profound: • 42 SEEDS student-athletes have been accepted to U.S. high schools and colleges • U.S. placed SEEDS student-athletes have maintained a 100% high school graduation rate and a 100% college graduation rate Leadership: Noah Levine, Executive Director – Global Cheikh Fall, Executive Director – Senegal Brian Benjamin, Director of Operations – U.S. Assane Badji, Director of Operations – Senegal Cheikh Saar, Athletic Director
#GROW SEEDS! !
SPORTS FOR EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN SENEGAL!
SPORTSUNITED | SEEDS CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM – DAKAR & THIES SENEGAL – August 22 - 28, 2012 SPORTS UNITED | August 24 – 27, 2012 SEEDS partnered with the U.S. Department of State’s SportsUnited program, NBA Cares, WNBA Cares, and the US Embassy in Dakar to host three days of co-ed, youth basketball clinics to engage underserved youth in the cities of Dakar and Thies. Sports Envoys, C.J. Watson (Brooklyn Nets) and Chamique Holdsclaw (WNBA Legend), SEEDS Global Executive Director, Noah Levine, and four SEEDS volunteers traveled to Senegal to participate in the Sports United program to help inspire Senegalese youth on and off the court. C.J., Chamique, and SEEDS staff / volunteers also participated in cultural enrichment activities (Goree Island, Dakar City Tour) in Senegal and were honored guests at US Ambassador, Lewis Lukens, home.
SEEDS CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM | August 22 – 28, 2012 SEEDS also launched its first Cultural Exchange Program in conjunction with the Sports United program. SEEDS’ Cultural Exchange Program brings non-Senegalese residents to Senegal to participate in aspects of SEEDS grassroots basketball clinics and SEEDS Academy-related activities. Participants are also immersed in the local Senegalese culture through cultural enrichment events and Senegal-specific experiences.
BASKETBALLCLINICS SATURDAY, August 25th – SEEDS Academy (Thies, Senegal) C.J. Watson and Chamique Holdsclaw traveled from Dakar to SEEDS Academy facility in Thies to hold basketball and leadership development clinics. The Sports Envoys and SEEDS Academy student-athletes worked with 100 non-elite youth, ages 9-18 (50 boys / 50 girls), across two morning sessions and the Envoys worked with 15 elite SEEDS studentathletes in the afternoon session.
SUNDAY, August 26th – International School in Dakar On the second day of clinics, C.J. and Chamique hosted two sessions of basketball and leadership development clinics at ISD with 100 non-elite youth, ages 9-18 (50 boys / 50 girls) from the underserved SICAP community in Dakar.
MONDAY, August 26th – International School in Dakar On the final day of clinics, C.J. and Chamique returned to the ISD school and hosted one session of basketball and leadership development clinics with 60 non-elite youth, ages 9-18 (30 boys / 30 girls) from the underserved Ouakam community in Dakar.
THE SPORTS UNITED PROGRAM SERVED OVER 220 YOUTH IN 3 DAYS OF BASKETBALL CLINICS
MORE THAN 30 BASKETBALLS WERE DONATED TO LOCAL YOUTH BASKETBALL LEAGUES
“My Time spent in Senegal was more then amazing. I left there with so many memories and reflections. To interact with the kids and see what SEEDS is doing and how they are also helping transform young boys into young men and giving them an opportunity to achieve greatness and to reach their goals is beyond special. The SEEDS Academy is something that I believe will grow bigger and bigger each year and will continue to help kids mature not just in basketball but also in life and hopefully those same kids will also grow up and give back to the younger generation and that cycle will continue to go around and around and inspire for centuries to come.� -- C.J. Watson, Brooklyn Nets
SEEDSCULTURALEXCHANGE PROGRAM – DAKAR & THIES SENEGAL – August 22 - 28, 2012 SEEDS CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM | August 22 – 28, 2012 MISSION: SEEDS’ Cultural Exchange Program seeks to create, cultivate, educate and inspire the next generation of SEEDS leaders and supporters. This year, Joe Pucci, Elena Perez, Samuel Huntington and Melissa Menard, were the first Cultural Exchange Program participants. They volunteered in the Sports Envoy program and enjoyed Senegal-specific experiences, such as: trip to Goree Island, shopping in the Dakar markets, and a night out to hear Senegalese music. For more information please email: info@seedproject.org
CULTURALENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES | EVENTS FRIDAY, August 24th – Goree Island Upon arrival to Senegal, Sports Envoys, C.J. Watson and Chamique Holdsclaw, and SEEDS volunteers traveled to UNESCO World Heritage Site, Goree Island. The site has great historical importance, as many West Africans were sent into slavery in the Americas, leaving from this point.
SUNDAY, August 25th – Reception at the home of Ambassador Lewis Lukens After a long day of clinics, C.J. and Chamique, SEEDS staff and volunteers, and about 100 sports and cultural contacts were invited to U.S. Ambassador, Lewis Lukens, home to welcome the envoys to Senegal.
MONDAY, August 26th – Press Conference at the U.S. Embassy, Mbacke Conference Room The U.S. Embassy hosted a press conference for local media to interview the Envoys, SEEDS Executive Director in Senegal, Cheikh Fall, NBA Clinician, Patrick Engelbrecht, and Kristin Kane from the U.S. Embassy. The panel touched on topics such as: sport and development, gender equality, and cultural exchange through the power of sports.
NBABWBAFRICA -- Johannesburg, South Africa -August 30 – September 2, 2012 Five SEEDS student-athletes were selected to participate in this year’s Basketball Without Boards camp hosted by the NBA. BWB Africa camp is a four-day camp for the top-60 high school players in Africa. BWB Africa is coached by NBA players and coaches. Four SEEDS players made the top-20 All Star game. SEEDS Players • Boubacar Toure (All Star) • Youssoupha Fall (All Star) • Serigne Sow • Ibrahima Sanghare (All Star) • Tidiane Badiane (All Star) NBA / WNBA • Luol Deng • Luc Mbah a Moute • Dikembe Mutombo • Serge Ibaka • Nick Collison • Cole Aldrich • Thabo Sefalosha • CJ Watson • Chamique Holdsclaw • Amadou Fall • Masai Ujiri • Lance Blanks
AZIZN’DIAYE + HUSKIES VISIT SEEDS -- Thies, Senegal -September 5 – September 9, 2012 Aziz N’Diaye, SEEDS Alum and current University of Washington Husky senior, traveled with his University of Washington teammates and coaches to Senegal this past summer. As part of a 15-day global tour, Aziz was able to give his fellow Pac-12 teammates and coaches a taste of Senegal. Aziz and the Husky team conducted youth basketball clinics at SEEDS Academy, played in several exhibition games, visited Goree Island and went on a Safari. For Aziz it was a chance to return home for the first time in two years. Coach Lorenzo Romar on why he chose to come to Senegal: “I was just overwhelmed with what those kids go through and how big a deal it is for them to get out here (U.S.) and actually have an opportunity to get an education and maybe a chance to get to the next level. All of it (the trip) is going to be good, but that leg of the trip – going to Senegal – is something special I think is going to put a lot of things into perspective for our guys.”
PRESS + MEDIA
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS AND SPONSORS
#GROW SEEDS! !
SPORTS FOR EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN SENEGAL! !
EMAIL: info@seedproject.org VISIT: seedproject.org LIKE: facebook/seedsacademy FOLLOW: @Seedsprojects SUPPORT: seedproject.org/donate $25
YEAR III: IT’S YOUR SERVE
provides 2 students with a year supply of school supplies
$50 sponsors 1 coach for a month
$150 sponsors 1 tutor who serves 30 kids a year
$500
THERECAP 12.08.11 @ 82MERCER PING PONG FOR CHARITY
sponsors 2 middle school students for 1 year to ensure they will be promoted to the next grade
together we can #GrowSEEDS