Project R.I.G.H.T expanded the basketball league/intervention services into a year round program for over 200 at-risk youth and young adults. What started as a summer league program has expanded over the last five years to be year-round with leagues, traveling teams, and a Friday open night outreach component utilized by many partner organizations to deepen relations with many high-risk Grove Hall
teenagers. The basketball outreach program has been our most effective vehicle, among our different approaches, in developing relations with the area youth. The ages of youth participants in the basketball outreach program ranged from 9-23. We organized two travel teams compromised of youth ages 9-13 that participated in four leagues during the year (Vine Street, Tobin Community Center, Bird Street, Johnson Center) and a 13 and under Boston Neighborhood Basketball League (BNBL) team at the Grove Hall Community Center. Mike & Al’s League has transitioned former youth participants who have “aged out” of our league into coaches and volunteers. There were four coaches in our past league that have been former participants in the league. For the past two seasons, our league has made the technology leap as we digitally record all of our games and edit a weekly highlight reel that we post to YouTube to showcase our young peoples’ talents. We produce a year-end DVD of the season highlights, bloopers, and championship game for our youth participants as a memento.
