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ExecutiveBiz: What is your background?
Susie Kay:
My dad was a Captain in the US NAVY for 32 years and met my Mom in Ethiopia where he was stationed to help rebuild the Ethiopian Navy. My mom is from Padua, Italy and my dad is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Our family moved to Newport, Rhode Island where I grew up. I came to American University, here in Washington where I studied political science. After graduation I worked on Capitol Hill and was always very interested in issues that I cared deeply about, mainly providing education and economic opportunities for everyone regardless of their race or social economic status etc. All my life, I have always been an advocate and strong believer in the thought that we do much better when we come together - not divide. From working on the Hill I went to teach 12th grade American Government at HD Woodson High School in Anacostia which is an inner city DC Public High School located in the heart of Ward 7. The student population was and still is 100% African American and most of the students come from challenging backgrounds. Part of my experience there was trying to connect my students to others in the Washington community and trying to help build bridges. My plan was to teach just for one year but somehow I never quite follow the plan and I taught there for 13 years. The experiences I had at Woodson were my impetus for starting The Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund.
ExecutiveBiz: How did Hoop Dreams get started?
Susie Kay:
During my time at Woodson, I taught and interacted with a number of amazing young people who had overcome every obstacle imaginable but refused to give up on their dreams of a better life. These young people had a drive to succeed but did not always have the resources, support systems, information and guidance also needed to succeed. I did my best as to assist them in any capacity that I could. I connected my students with members of the Capitol Hill community to be informal mentors, get them internships, and have them visit my classroom. I extended this to my connections in the local business community and saw something great. I saw people who would not normally come together and begin getting to know each other start to share and learn from each other. I saw these bridges being built one at a time. In 1996 I decided that I would organize a one-day 3-on3 charity basketball game with the hope that I would bring these communities together as well as raise money for college scholarships for some of my students. Fast forward to today, ten years later we are a nonprofit organization that provides year round services and programs to students at five inner city DC public high schools. We have now helped send 800 students to college since 1996 - most of which are the first in their family to attend college and most come from a single parent household. And what is really important and unique about Hoop Dreams is that we have held on to our roots and we continue to build relationships and bridges between our students and local caring members of the business community in the hopes of making us all stronger.
ExecutiveBiz: How did you choose the name Hoop Dreams?
Susie Kay:
The year I organized the first tournament, the documentary Hoop Dreams was released. In many ways one of the young men in the movie, Arthur Agee, reminded me of some of my students at Woodson. He was determined to succeed about him. He wanted to be the best despite obstacles that he faced. I was inspired by him, as I was and continue to be by my students, and thus I chose to call the tournament the Hoop Dreams Basketball Tournament. That first tournament was to last for 8 hours - I kept the name as I continued to build on the energy and spirit of how this effort was started. Certainly, now we hold on to the name because of the branding that we now have in our region but of course it always takes explaining that essentially we have nothing to do with basketball as a year long organization.
ExecutiveBiz: How has Hoop Dreams changed over the past few years?
Susie Kay:
I would say that Hoop Dreams has changed a great deal from the beginning but our core values and mission are all still the same. When we began we were an all volunteer, grassroots organization that I ran with friends helping me. I was still teaching fulltime. Back then our primary focus was to raise and award academic college scholarships. Now, we operate four major programs; our intensive college prep mentoring program which is now where most of our energy, staff and resources are now devoted, a year long internship program, a Princeton Review -SAT prep partnership program and our scholarships that we still award at the end of the academic year. We continue to work very hard with our students we have helped send to college and try to keep our students and mentors connected from past years. We have now had nearly 200 students graduate from college and we are working with many of them to help connect them to the business community. Our commitment to bridge building and community building is always ongoing. I have a small but very dedicated staff and so much of our work is sustaining all that has already been created - keeping connected to many different and often divergent communities and trying to keep the "business of the business" going. It gets more challenging, not less - while trying to maintain the integrity of where and why this all began. I try hard to remind myself the end result is worth it as our local students who have been through a great deal deserve this.
Since our beginning Hoop Dreams has paired over 1,000 DC students and mentors from the local business community; facilitated hundreds of internships; engaged over 1,000 volunteers in community work; coached over 400 students through SAT prep programs in partnership with The Princeton Review; and helped nearly 800 inner city students reach college with over 1,000 Scholarships totaling nearly $2.5 million.
ExecutiveBiz: Who are some of the business leaders involved in your program?
Susie Kay:
Since very early on I have been lucky enough to have the tremendous support of some very special business leaders. Jim Duffey of our founding sponsor EDS, and a host of EDS past and current executives from George Newstrom ( our very first corporate sponsor), Bill Sweeney of EDS, Ted Leonsis, Pat McGettigan, Manny Friedman and FBR, Ernie Jarvis, Jim Kimsey, Bruce Levenson and Joe Robert and Fight for Children, Fernando Murias and Miriam Pollin of PWC and Frank Ross and KPMG , Dori Silverman of Coca Cola, Sanju Bansal, Jerry Sachs, Paul and Virginia Singh, Tony Hollinger and Kathy Etemad Hollinger from Comcast of the District, Tien Wong, Raul Fernandez, Eric Billings, Mark Ein, Ann and Tom Friedman, Michael Sternberg…to name a few. There have been a lot of special and deeply committed individuals and companies and foundations that have been supportive at different times over the years.
ExecutiveBiz: You have an event coming up in June. Tell us about the event.
Susie Kay:
We actually have two events coming up in June.
Saturday, June 17, 2006 more than 2,000 people will come together on "America's Street," Pennsylvania Avenue between 3rd and 6th Street NW, with a backdrop of the U.S. Capitol Building for the 11th Annual "Hoop Dreams" 3-on-3 Charity Basketball Tournament and Community Festival presented by Scion. This event will celebrate the genesis of the event that launched our organization. A charity sports event and community festival, the tournament is our signature community building event bringing together a diverse group of over, including DC public high school students, NBA players, business and community leaders, media personalities, local athletes and celebrities.
Over 100 3-on-3 teams participate in the open tournament on thirteen courts. Men's, women's and mixed teams of all skill levels and ages play. The tournament is followed by a VIP match, featuring local celebrities and students. All proceeds benefit the Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund. The event celebrates the roots of this effort in bringing together local DC students with the local business community. It is a great time for a great cause and everyone is invited to come down for the day of fun. Our website has more information to participate in some way or volunteer or sponsor or just come out and be a part of the day.
Also on Saturday, June 10 is the Capitol Movement Project, benefiting Hoop Dreams. The event serves two purposes, to provide dancers in the DC area an opportunity to work with top choreographers in the industry and highlight their talent in a prominent venue and to raise funds for the Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund.
Washington DC has never experienced a charity event like this. This dance concert will bring together all different kinds of people, from performing artists, to guest celebrities, celebrity athletes, professional dancers, celebrity choreographers, businessmen and women, and more. For more information visit www.capitolmovementproject.com
ExecutiveBiz: What is something most people don't realize about Hoop Dreams?
Susie Kay:
I think there are two things that people often don't realize about Hoop Dreams. The first thing is that we really don't have anything to do with basketball with the exception of our basketball tournament that we still have annually to celebrate how we began. The other thing is I don't know that people realize what it takes to keep a small grassroots nonprofit going. The outside perception sometimes is that in this venture that, things are guaranteed. Nothing is ever guaranteed. Our staff and board are starting from scratch each year. But like our students, I try to remain optimistic and relentless and not give up. Keeping an organically grown organization while always remaining committed to the very reason you started it in the first place is very challenging. We always need new supporters and funders to keep this going while remaining grateful and very appreciative to all that helped bring us this far. The impact this has had on our students lives, their families, their community is very powerful and tangible as well as for many of our mentors and folks from the broader community. I am a fervent believer that when we come together and work to bring out the best in each other - our potential for good is a very powerful reality. In spite of the many obstacles that can get in our way of doing so, if we remain most focused on the power of hope, we can really make an impact on others lives. My dad always taught me that was the whole purpose of us being here in the first place. I am deeply grateful to so many who have helped support Hoop Dreams and allowed us to keep this hope alive for so many great young people.
ExecutiveBiz: How can our readers get involved?
Susie Kay:
To learn more about Hoop Dreams and how you can become a mentor, volunteer, internship provider or make a donation you can visit our website, www.hoopdreams.org or call us at 202/414.4774.
For more information about
Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund, visit
www.hoopdreams.org.
Interview with Susie Kay conducted by JD Kathuria.
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