Resurrection Basketball Leagues Kicks Off its 12th Season!
Summer is here, and you know what that means: Friday night hoops! TRP’s Resurrection Basketball League (RBL) kicks off its 12th season today. Since 1998, RBL has taken over 100 youth out every Friday evening to play basketball in areas considered “hotspots” due to high crime rate. With different blocks chosen to host the weekly tournaments, the RBL allows kids living in areas controlled by different gangs to meet and interact in a safe environment.
For over 12 years now, RBL’s unique approach to community building has delivered on its mission of bringing together neighborhood at-risk youth and their families with volunteers, community agencies, and the Chicago Police Department to provide safe, healthy activities through basketball tournaments, which has expanded to include art and dance workshops. Its success has been such that many communities in Chicago have adopted our model, which the New Communities Program has expanded it into a citywide program named “Hoops in the Hood”.
On Friday July 1, at 4:00pm RBL kicks off its registration for its 12th
season at 18th Place between Loomis Street and Throop Street. Registration entitled kids to participate in a seriesof basketball tournaments scheduled every Friday, from July 1st to the final citywide Hoops in the Hood tournament August 20.
The tournaments will also host a wide variety of workshops for parents, where they will find opportunities to learn about financial services, healthy living, college financial aid application (FAFSA), leadership, and civic engagement.
The Resurrection Project’s RBL has been able to build a sense of community within our neighborhoods as well as build relationships between residents and police. Kids and parents learn to trust the police force because of the weekly interaction, and the police learn to understand the needs of the community. This mutual respect and trust are essential to reducing violence and crime over the long term. RBL’s success over time has helped community youth, forging friendships built through these activities and preventing them from becoming enemies or joining gangs.
Come join us make our community a safer place! Join RBL!As we kick off our 12th year, we like to invite you to bring your children, have them shoot some hoops, create art, make new friends and enjoy safe evenings full of family oriented activities.
To volunteer, or for more information, contact Danilo Aguilar at (312) 388-1653 or daguilar@resurrectionproject.org.
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