Ann Arbor Man -- as Finalist for 'Basketball Peace Corps'-- Aims to Help Young People in Rwanda, South Africa, Brazil

Posted: Mar 13, 2012 at 2:11 PM [Mar 13, 2012]

  Program enables disadvantaged youth in targeted countries to learn and play basketball, build better lives for themselves            Casey Stockton, who played for Coach Rex Stanczak’s 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 varsity basketball squads at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School, soon could be sharing his passion for “hoops” with underprivileged children in Rwanda, South Africa and Brazil.            Stockton is one of five national finalists for a 10-month basketball sabbatical program sponsored by Shooting Touch, a Boston-based community service organization. It sponsors the sabbatical, which offers the top applicant each year a $25,000 stipend to establish and operate youth programs in second- and third-world nations. These outreach efforts focus on basketball, health, gender-equity and community well-being.            The Shooting Touch sabbatical program often has been dubbed “America’s Basketball Peace Corps.”            “To gain this opportunity would be a dream come true for me,” said Stockton. “Basketball provides a sound platform for building confidence, physical health, teamwork and self-confidence – and it makes all the sense in the world to do outreach with this great sport.”            The 2012 award-winner will be selected on March 18, 2012, as decided by a vote of the sponsoring organization’s board of directors. One additional vote toward the decision is awarded to the candidate whose seven-minute, application video -- posted on You Tube -- garners the most views.            To view Stockton’s video in its entirety, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPo25YCwRrU            Stockton, an Ann Arbor native, played at the guard position during his junior and senior years at Pioneer. He will graduate this coming May from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, where he played varsity basketball and majored in Educational Studies. He has worked extensively with young people in sports, coaching and mentoring programs, both locally and in Ohio and New York. During the summer of 2011, he served as an intern at Harlem RBI in New York, a program for inner-city youth. It provides opportunities for needy children and adolescents to play competitive baseball, and receive academic support and mentoring.            Previous Shooting Touch sabbatical winners have worked in Africa and South America. The organization’s board of directors includes prominent people representing professional- and college-level basketball.    

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