The Harlem Ambassadors come to Charlotte tomorrow!

The Harlem Ambassadors face off against the Guardians of the Hoop at 4 p.m. at Charlotte Catholic High School located at 7702 Pineville-Matthews Rd. Charlotte, NC. The Guardians of the Hoop are a team of dedicated volunteers supporting children in care on the court and beyond the classroom.We had one late addition to our team (last but certainly not least) Chair of the Board of County Commissioners Jennifer Roberts!

Kelsey, and I have come a long way from when we first started planning this event last year. As we put the finishing touches on our event we wanted to thank everyone who has helped us this far and we are excited to see all of you tomorrow!

Here is some of the news circulating about the event.

Check us out from the Charlotte Observer today:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/03/11/2131324/benefit-hoops-saturday-at-catholic.html

We were also featured in South Charlotte Weekly, a section in the Charlotte Observer earlier this month:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/03/02/2092121/2-teams-1-goal-hoops-to-help-foster.html

From the Charlotte Catholic High School community:

Ever wonder...

...if Coach Christmas can really dunk the ball like he says,

...if Coach Brodowicz can really nail a 3 like he claims,

...if Coach Timmermans REALLY played for Notre Dame,

OR

if any of the 3 will even play fair given the chance?!

Charlotte Catholic is also hosting a best dressed contest for the student who shows the most School Pride in support!

Join us tomorrow to find out if Judge Louis Trosch can live out his dream of being a basketball star! Or see if Marlene Jeter a former Lady Vols player under the legendary Coach Pat Summitt can give some new talent a run for their money!

Or simply come to show your support for the children in the Mecklenburg County Foster Care system.

The event will start at 4 p.m. Doors open at 3:20p.m.

Tickets will be on sale tomorrow near the gymnasium entrance:

students & seniors $6, adults $8, kids under 4 are FREE!

Harlem Ambassadors VS Guardians of the Hoop

Guardians of the Hoop welcomes some new players from the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department!

Bryan Corrado

Tyrone Ruff

Warith Muhammed

Kenan Brooks

We are excited to have the CMPD joining us to support us in support of the children in the Mecklenburg County foster care system. We hope to see other community groups joining us on Saturday, March 12 at 4p.m. We are offering a discount group rate of $40 for youth groups with 2 adults. Tickets are available at our website: www.meckguardian.org

When we started recruiting for our team we had a goal to show Mecklenburg County’s united front to support the children in care. So far we have representation from community volunteers, GAL volunteers, Court and County officials, and the business community! We are inspired by the support we have received thus far and can’t thank our sponsors enough.

Check out our updated team roster listed below:

County Commissioner Harold Cogdell Jr.

GAL Volunteer Gena Bane

Honorable Judge Louis Trosch aka The Gavel
Marlene Jeter-Volunteer and aka Miss Molly former Lady Vols player from University of Tennessee

Kevin Christmas-Athletic Director for CCHS
Mike Brodowicz-Football coach for CCHS

Tom Timmermans-Volunteer basketball coach for CCHS, and former player of University of Notre Dame
Eric Trosch-Community Volunteer
Tom Dumas-Consolidated Planning, Volunteer
Trip Higginbottom-Consolidated Planning, Volunteer
Keith Taylor-Consolidated Planning, Volunteer
Johnathan Hargrette-Consolidated Planning, Volunteer
Blair Thompson-Consolidated Planning, Volunteer
Neal Brincefield-Consolidated Planning, Volunteer
Bill Brincefield-Consolidated Planning, Volunteer

Jeremiah-Consolidated Planning, Volunteer

Chris Wilson aka Mr. Wilson -Community Volunteer

Brian Goudie- Community Volunteer

Rod Gomez- Community Volunteer

Omar-Community Volunteer
Jeremy Braketa-Community Volunteer

Bryan Corrado- CMPD           

Tyrone Ruff- CMPD

Warith Muhammed- CMPD

Kenan Brooks- CMPD

Harlem Ambassadors Update

The Harlem Ambassadors are coming to South Charlotte!!


Who?
The Harlem Ambassadors are a traveling basketball showcase that partner with non-profits in an effort to help them raise funds. The Harlem Ambassadors offer a unique brand of Harlem-style basketball, featuring high-flying slam dunks, dazzling ball-handling tricks and hilarious comedy routines. Playing against the Harlem Ambassadors will be a team put together by the GALA foundation, The Guardians of the Hoop. The team will consist of:

County Commissioner Harold Cogdell Jr.

GAL Volunteer Gena Bane

Honorable Judge Lou Trosch

Chris Wilson-Community Volunteer

Tom Timmermans-Volunteer basketball coach for CCHS

Greg Krill-Community Volunteer

Marlene Jeter-Community Volunteer

Omar-Community Volunteer

Jeremy Braketa-Community Volunteer

Kevin Christmas-Athletic Director for CCHS

Mike Brodowicz-Football coach for CCHS

Eric Trosch-Community Volunteer

Tom Dumas-Consolidated Planning, Volunteer

Trip Higginbottom-Consolidated Planning, Volunteer

Keith Taylor-Consolidated Planning, Volunteer

Johnathan Hargrette-Consolidated Planning, Volunteer

Blair Thompson-Consolidated Planning, Volunteer

Neal Brincefield-Consolidated Planning, Volunteer

Jeremiah-Consolidated Planning, Volunteer

Bill Brincefield-Consolidated Planning, Volunteer What? The Harlem Ambassadors are being hosted by the GALA Foundation and Charlotte Catholic High School, in part with their athletic association. The game will consist of two quarters of fast paced, competitive basketball and two quarters of fun, comedy routines. Where? Charlotte Catholic High School 7702 Pineville Matthews Road Charlotte, NC When? March 12, 2011 at 4 P.M. Why? This event is in an effort to support the children in foster care in Mecklenburg County. The funds raised at our charity basketball event will help us kick off a new initiative to support the extracurricular activities of these children in care. It is our goal to give children in foster care the opportunity to engage in an extracurricular activity of their choice for a short period of time. How? There are several different ways you can get involved and several opportunities to get tickets for the event. To get involved, or to be a sponsor, please call: (704) 577-2375 or e-mail: Guardian@meckguardian.org. For ticket information please visit: http://meckguardian.org/harlem-ambassadors/tickets. Also, a huge thanks to our sponsors:

Thank you to all of our sponsors!!

Charlotte Catholic High School for use of their school and all of the amazing help they have given us.

Courtside Defenders: Donna Rice, Fredda Kimball, Effie S. Hall

Team Superstar: Knights of Columbus St. Matthews, Knights of Columbus St. Vincent

Game Day Hero:



GALA Champion:



Thank you to the following businesses for allowing us to sell tickets: Harris Teeter, Earth Fare, Steinmart, South Park Mall

Diversity and Inclusiveness

It is an unfortunate reality that there is a disproportionate number of children of color who are in the foster care system. Being cognizant of this reality, we here at the Mecklenburg Guardian ad Litem Advocacy Foundation and the Mecklenburg County Guardian ad Litem Program have set diversity and inclusiveness goals. We are trying to increase the numbers of volunteers who are male, and volunteers of color.

We greatly appreciate our current volunteers, but it has been shown that children are more likely to connect with someone who is similar to them, and the people they are usually exposed to. We are now attempting to target some of our recruitment efforts at these demographics. We will NEVER turn down a female volunteer, or volunteers who are not of color, but there is a great need for more men to join our organization! 

We have set goals to increase our number of male volunteers by 5% by December 31, 2011, by focusing on holding more male recruitment events similar to ones we have had in the past, partnering with Big Brother Big Sisters. We hope to increase the number of Spanish speaking volunteers by 5% by Dec 31, 2011. We are aiming to have more exposure in local Spanish newspapers and radio stations. We are also hoping to examine the growing disparities for children of color in the foster care system.

Do you know any outlets or organizations that could help us in our recruitment goals?? Let us know! We are always looking for new ways to recruit volunteers, new media outlets to spread the word, and of course new partnerships and collaborations!

Where Can You Buy Your Harlem Ambassadors Game Ticket???

I know most of our posts lately have been about the Harlem Ambassadors, and yet here is another one!

We will be selling tickets to the event at the following locations. Come out and buy your tickets on these days, and get your grocery shopping done at the same time! Even if you cannot make it to the event, we are also trying to raise money to sponsor some children in care, who may be unable to go otherwise. Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for students, and children under the age of 4 are free! This is a great family event, so please come out and join the fun!

Ticket Sales locations and dates:

Quail Corners Harris Teeter, Jan 28 4:00-8:00
          8538 Park Rd, Charlotte 28210
SouthPark Earth Fare Grocery Store, Feb 5 & 6 2:00-5:00
          721 Governor Morrison Street Suite 110, Charlotte 28211
Ballantyne Stein Mart Feb 12 1:00 - 3:00
          5341 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy, Charlotte, NC 28277