Hoops for Hope.

The Salvation Army wishes to thank Subway for their support through our inner city youth basketball camp. In providing delicious lunches, this enabled The Salvation Army to have an inclusive camp by ensuring each person has healthy and nutritious food no matter what their background is. Each day, players were excited for the subs after their hard work.

We also wish to thank Damin Altizer who shared his time and skill with our players. Damin is an NCAA Div 1: University of Virginia – ACC regular season Champion, High School All-State Player of the Year, 3xDistrict Player of the Year and 2xAll Region Player.

The Salvation Army provides unprecedented support to society’s most vulnerable. We work tirelessly to relieve human suffering while restoring dignity to those in need. The Salvation Army accounts for 1/3 of all social services in British Columbia, and 86% of funds raised are re-invested into the lives of those in need. A 2013 report ranked British Columbia with the highest childhood poverty rate in Canada (18.6%). Much of the poverty is concentrated in inner city centres like Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. This basketball camp initiated our focus of early intervention to build family health and combat issues such as addiction, homelessness and exploitation in Vancouver.

Throughout the week, 48 participants took part in the camp at the Coca-Cola Basketball Courts in the RAYCAM housing projects. This basketball camp included training along with healthy nutrition, motivational messages and specific lessons regarding addiction and homelessness in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Many of these youth will be introduced to our programming that help remediate poverty including counselling, community kitchens, anger management classes and parenting classes.