Full Court Peace, a non-profit organization that aims to unite, strengthen and educate local and global basketball communities through the creation of youth basketball teams, is establishing at club at Ridgefield High School.
Founded by Weston native Michael Evans, Full Court Peace has influenced youth across the globe for over six years. For example, it create a basketball team in religiously divided Belfast, Northern Ireland, or repaired courts in drug war-town Juarez, Mexico and politically distanced Havana, Cuba.
Fairfield County is widely considered the capital of the nation’s income gap, consisting of affluent towns such as New Canaan and Ridgefield, while also being home to lesser-advantaged cities like Bridgeport and parts of Norwalk and Stamford.
Earlier this summer, Full Court Peace created Camp United in order to respond to these social and economic barriers. In the weeklong camp held at New Canaan High School, rising seventh grader boys played on diverse basketball teams; each team comprised an equal number of boys from local suburbs and cities. The camp’s counselors — representing each town or city — worked in racially diverse pairs to co-coach each of the boys, so as to reinforce and encourage teamwork, communication, and above all else camaraderie.
For more information visit www.fullcourtpeace.org, or contact Akshay Parikh at akshay_parikh@me.com.