Door of Hope is a temporary housing program in Los Angeles for homeless families that has been in existence for 30 years. Their mission is to “equip homeless families to rebuild their lives and a major part of rebuilding families includes the responsibility to enlighten, encourage, and empower our youth.”
An important aspect of this responsibility to their youth is to encourage healthy living and participating in physical team activities. The values that Door of Hope teaches their youth can be reinforced through the game of basketball. These values include hard work, respect of peers and adults, regular exercise time, and the importance of teamwork.
Door of Hope is not primarily a basketball organization, but recently it was given the opportunity to use the sport of basketball to reinforce its core values. A 16-year old named Clair Dundee decided to achieve her Girl Scout Gold Award in a unique way by building a basketball court in the front yard of Door of Hope’s transitional apartment complex. She fundraised, planned with a contractor and architect, and oversaw every aspect of the project. The court was unveiled in December 2015 after six months of work, and it has given the 9 children (ages 8-14) served by Door of Hope a safe place to play outside and experience the physical activity and healthy competition that all children need. The court has given these kids “a great way to open opportunities to instill all the core character values through teaching the fundamentals of basketball” (Shania Clasberry, Youth Coordinator).
Door of Hope plans to use the Under Armour gift card to buy t-shirts and equipment to run a basketball camp for their youth this spring. As a result of the hard work and commitment of Clair Dundee, the youth at Door of Hope are now able to enjoy the game of basketball and learn about values like sportsmanship, teamwork, respect, and much more.
