Community Connect partners with JCC Chai Sports for a special Chanukah Basketball Event
On Wednesday, December 12th, our ‘South’ basketball participants at Beth Tzedek were treated to a very special Chanukah event. Regular players were joined by classmates, as well as children from other UJA agencies such as JF&CS and JIAS.
They were treated to off court, Chanukah themed activities, as well as some great tunes by a guest DJ while on the court. The event was organized by Jessica Taylor and Sam Walman of Community Connect, with Jakes Barnes co-ordinating the basketball logistics for the evening, and Lisa Winberg running the off court activities.
For those who are not aware, JCC Chai Sports has been supported by the fundraising efforts of the annual Hoops 4 Israel (H4I) basketball tournament through UJA-Community Connect, and some of the best players from the Hoops team were kind enough to ‘live the cause’ and help create an evening of Chanukah themed basketball fun for the children!
Since the first tournament in 2007, Hoops 4 Israel has raised over $500,000 in support of children in both Israel and Toronto through the United Jewish Appeal. The Hoops team was thrilled to have the opportunity to plan this exciting evening that was enjoyed thoroughly by all participants.
Amongst some of the special guest instructors were former JCC Maccabi star Ashley Kochman, as well as former high school basketball standout, Jake Barnes. Special thanks to all of the players who came out and lived the cause including: Mitchell Silber, Jon Ordon, Jonathan Vandersluis, Sam Jonas, Jeff Gloven, Jamie Sweigman, and Eldad Ben Hamo.
Thank you to Jessica, Sam and the rest of the CoCo team for giving our young athletes a memorable evening they will not soon forget!
