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Mt Albert Youth to the Community: Help Us Set a World Record

YMCA Mt Albert’s Raise Up youth crew challenges locals to shoot hoops as part of YMCA International’s World Challenge for youth empowerment

AUCKLAND, Tuesday 9th October 2012 –The inventors of basketball will be out at St Lukes Shopping Centre on the 13th of October, showing shoppers how it’s done.

In 1891, a teacher at a YMCA college in Massachusetts invented a sport called basketball. In 2012, YMCA Mt Albert’s Raise Up crew youth leaders will be setting up a basketball hoop outside K-Mart in St Lukes challenging the local community to shoot hoops - and set a world record.

The event is part of YMCA International’s YMCA World Challenge, which is planning to bring together over five million people across the globe to shoot basketballs simultaneously. “It’s the biggest basketball event in the world,” says Kev Carter, OSCAR & Youth Programmes Manager at YMCA Mt Albert Community & Recreation Centre. “And we want to have our names on the record of most basketballs shot at the same time ever.”

“The theme of the day is empowering young people,” says Carter. “Our local Raise Up crew are going to be running it themselves. It’s a great opportunity for them to get out and meet the public, and show the community what they’re doing for local youth.” The young crew has already undergone training session to prepare them for talking with the public and promoting their activities.
The day is all part of a larger message, Carter says. “Through Raise Up and our many other programmes, YMCA gives young people a sense of belonging and confidence, and enriches their lives. That’s what we want to show on World Challenge Day.”

The community is invited to come past K-Mart St Lukes on October 13 from 10am to 5pm and have a go at shooting as many hoops as they can.

About YMCA Mt Albert
YMCA Mt Albert’s vision is to build strong kids, strong families and strong communities. Its core values are “Caring, Respect, Honesty and Responsibility”. Its services include Fitness, Recreation, OSCAR, Community Education and Outreach. Through these services it has built a strong community hub where people come to it to facilitate programmes.

• Runs Raise Up a youth development/leadership programme for youth, run by youth in Onehunga, Ellerslie, Massey, Mt Albert and North Shore, with around 40,000 youths attending events annually and 180 volunteer crew members.
For more information see http://www.ymcaauckland.org.nz/

ENDS

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