Soccer Players Play for a Good Cause

The blue team was on a roll. The goals kept coming. Upward Star Center and Dorman JV Coach – Charles Blue dived to his left to avoid being scored on. The teams were ready for a serious game.

John Rhoden of Spartanburg High School was hungry for some goals.

Serge Nkoth and Michael Bayiha of Dorman High School were dynamic.

Serge was the star on the field.

Hill Mitchell and Kaif Surka of Spartanburg Day School defended the ball, but their Varsity teammate Adom Appiah had switched on them. He had been recruited by the blue team.

Varsity basketball player, Patrick Bonna of Charlotte based Crossovers for Christ was glad to be back on the soccer field.

Spartanburg Day’s Coach Graham Brewer was on fire. Although his team lost, he ended the game with a beautiful penalty kick.

A great afternoon to support 4 area nonprofits. The Ball4Good soccer game was a fun recreational afternoon for a good cause. Volunteers cheered as their favorite players run with the ball. The afternoon was a success.

Representatives from the Children’s Cancer Partners of the Carolinas, Tyger River Children’s Center, Center for Youth Justice and Sidewalk Hope, were on hand to receive grants to support the youth.

Together, the team raised $7,500 for the nonprofits.

Members of the Ball4Good Grants Committee presented the checks to the nonprofits. The nonprofits had the opportunity to share their mission with the players.

An afternoon of soccer for a worthy cause. Thanks to Coaches Nick Buxton, Graham Brewer, Charles Blue, Ball4Good Founder -Adom Appiah and Vice President – Maxwell Booker for recruiting the players for the game.

Check out a few pictures below:

Ball4Good Founder Named Young Hero & Featured in The Washington Post!

Congratulations to Adom Appiah on being named a recipient of the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes. In addition to his award, Adom has also been named as a Points of Light recipient. He was recently featured in The Washington Post for his work with Ball4Good. Congrats Adom!

Ball4Good Founder Releases 3rd Book to Motivate Children

Adom Appiah, founder of Ball4Good, has written a third book to motivate children. In the Spring of 2019, Adom was named the South Carolina High School State Honoree for the prestigious Prudential Spirit of Community Awards

As part of the Spirit of Community Awards celebrations, Adom visited Washington, DC elementary schools with 101 student State Honorees from across the United States. During the school visits, he was given the opportunity to read his book – Kids Can Change the World to first graders. The questions posed by these younger readers during the DC and prior school visits, motivated Adom to write a simpler version of the book for children from Pre-K through second grade. 

Kids Can Change the World – Young Readers’ Edition, was released on August 5, 2019. The book is available in select bookstores and online. 

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Ball4Good to Hold Third Annual Celebrity Basketball Games

SPARTANBURG – The third annual Ball4Good Celebrity Games will be held Sunday, April 28, 2019, from 3:00-5:00pm at Spartanburg Day School.  This event will feature Spartanburg celebrities playing in action-packed basketball games to raise money for local nonprofits. Along with the Spartanburg celebrities, former Michigan State University player and the first athlete with autism to play Big 10 basketball, Anthony Ianni, will be on the roster.  

“Having Anthony here in Spartanburg and playing in the Ball4Good Celebrity Games is an incredible opportunity for people to learn more about autism and the effects of bullying in school,” says Adom Appiah, founder of Ball4Good and ninth-grader at Spartanburg Day School.  

Ianni’s involvement in the Celebrity Games is not by accident.  The event’s proceeds will support Project HOPE Foundation, an organization that serves families and individuals with autism in Spartanburg County and across the Upstate.  Ianni now travels the country speaking to student groups about bullying and overcoming autism.

“Anthony’s mission aligns perfectly with Project HOPE Foundation, and we are happy to support our local autism community through this organization,” Appiah continues.

Founded in 1997 by moms looking for services for their young sons with autism, Project HOPE Foundation offers programs that benefit not only the child affected with autism but also the entire family, all of whom are forever changed by this diagnosis.  Project HOPE Foundation provides a lifespan of services for the autism community, through programs that Help families, Open minds, Promote inclusion and Expand potential. The organization provides individualized services to a broad range of people across ages, across the spectrum of autism, and across programs (ABA therapy, classroom options, adult employment, social groups, life skills, community outreach, and professional trainings).  

“We are honored and grateful to be this year’s Ball4Good grant recipient,” said Lisa Lane, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Project HOPE Foundation. “This gift will help us grow Printed by HOPE, the t-shirt printing business we’ve started to help our young adults gain valuable job skills.”

In addition to granting to Project HOPE, Ball4Good will recognize three additional nonprofits during this year’s Celebrity Games: Sidewalk Hope, Citizen Scholars Institute, and Brothers Restoring Urban Hope (BRUH Mentor).  

Nine student representatives from across Spartanburg County coordinated the grants selection process. Several students and adult volunteers are part of the event planning team.

“It is so inspiring that Ball4Good has raised so much money and awareness by connecting people’s love for sports with the needs in our community. Being able to be a part of this process and choose a foundation in need of the grant has been truly amazing,” says Liza Webster, a middle school representative on the Ball4Good Grants Committee.

“Working with Ball4Good provided a great opportunity to learn about various organizations in our community that serve children and how philanthropy can help in those efforts,” says Maxwell Booker, a 9th grade student at Spartanburg High School and Ball4Good Grants Committee member.

Spartanburg High School 10th grader and Ball4Good committee member Will Beeson adds, “I’ve been lucky to be a part of Ball4Good and I am excited to see what good the organization will continue to do for our community.”

The Ball4Good Celebrity Games is a collaboration between Ball4Good, Southeastern Paper, The Spartanburg County Foundation, City of Spartanburg, Spartanburg schools, and several community leaders.  Tickets to the Celebrity Basketball Games are $10 and can be purchased online at www.ball4good.org.

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Founded by Adom Appiah, Ball4Good is a 501(c)(3) organization supporting the community and other nonprofits through sports.  Ball4Good began as a school project during the fall of 2016. Mrs. Kelsea Turner of Spartanburg Day School inspired her students to dedicate 20% of history period to a service project. Mrs. Turner called the project 20Time. Ball4Good is a result of Adom’s 7th grade 20Time project.

b4good 2019 flyer

Ball4Good Founder Named State Honoree

Pru Spirit

Ball4Good founder, Adom Appiah has been selected as South Carolina’s top High School Youth Volunteer in the 2019 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. He will receive $1,000 and be considered for one of ten national awards. Adom also qualified for the President’s Service Award which recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of time to serve their communities and their country. He was nominated by Spartanburg Day School. Congratulations Adom!

Learn more about The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards here.

Ball4Good Announces 2019 Celebrity Games Grant Finalists!

The Ball4Good Grants Committee is happy to announce that four nonprofits have been selected as finalists for the Basketball Celebrity Game funds. The committee reviewed 17 grant applications from November through December of 2018. Founded in the fall of 2016, Ball4Good has to date assisted 12 organizations. Past recipients of the Celebrity Game grants are:

2017 Recipient- Boys and Girls Club

2018 Recipient – Children’s Advocacy Center

2018 Finalists – Miracle Hill, Girl Scouts & Boys and Girls Club

The 2019 finalists are:

Project Hope FoundationProvides a lifespan of services to the autism community.

Citizen ScholarsProvides disadvantaged youth, through mentoring and program support, with the life skills, knowledge, and character development needed to obtain college scholarships, complete college, and become contributing citizens.

Sidewalk Hope: Impacts the lives of inner-city children through the hope of Jesus Christ.

BRUH Mentor: Restoring the urban community through mentorship, leadership, training and spiritual guidance.

Students will be voting for the grant recipient during the month of January. Congratulations to our four finalists!

The following schools were represented on the Grants Committee:

Boiling Springs High School

Dorman High School

J.L. Mann Academy

Oakbrook Preparatory

Spartanburg Day School

Spartanburg High School

Thank you to the Spartanburg County Foundation and AKBOA Consulting for guiding us throughout the process.

The Ball4Good Celebrity Basketball Games will be held on Sunday April 28, 2019. Thank you for your continued support.

For sponsorship and donation opportunities, please contact info@ball4good.org.

Welcome the 2019 Celebrity Game Grants Committee!

Ball4Good is happy to announce the addition of 8 student leaders to the Celebrity Games Grants Committee. These student leaders have shown a passion and commitment to their community. They are excited to play a vital role at Ball4Good.

Our leaders are:

Rex Bingham – Dorman

Emily Campbell – Boiling Springs

Maxwell Booker – Spartan High

Will Beeson – Spartan High

Charity Metcalf – J.L. Mann

Liza Webster – Spartanburg Day

Adom Appiah – Spartanburg Day

Christopher Henderson – Oakbrook

Karine Nguyen – Spartanburg Day

We will be sharing individual profiles of our student leaders in the coming weeks.

Ball4Good Represented at Scripps National Spelling Bee

Our founder, Adom Appiah, just competed at the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee! He had an extraordinary experience, made several new friends, represented Ball4Good, Spartanburg Day School and the Upstate Region of South Carolina.

During the opening ceremony, 7 individuals were selected to represent the Bee’s core values. Representing “Potential” was none other than our own Adom Appiah. Head pronouncer Dr. Jaques Bailly addressed the audience, telling them about Adom’s work with Ball4Good and the community.

Appiah had the opportunity to hear Leland Melvin, an astronaut, and former NFL player. He also got the privilege of seeing Karthik Nemmani win the largest ever spelling bee live. The Bee was a weeklong activity, culminating in an awards banquet and after party.  Overall, Appiah had an enriching experience that he will miss.

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Happy Holidays from Ball4Good!

Dear All,

Happy Holidays! At this special time of year, I’d like to thank you for supporting Ball4Good. We’ve had a great first year, and none of it would have been possible without you. I mean, who would have thought that a kid’s school project could turn into this? I sure didn’t.

Your support drives me to grow Ball4Good. With your help, we have supported or impacted the Boys and Girls Club, Children’s Cancer Partners of the Carolinas, St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital, Boy Scouts, The Cancer Association, Miracle Hill and the Hope Center for Children. We’ve had a lot of fun playing ball, raising funds and bringing the community together.

Thanks to my Ball4Good experience, I wrote a book to inspire kids to change the world and has been receiving public speaking engagements. Once again, thanks a million for believing in me! A big thank you to Ms. Thomas (mentor), Ms. Kelsea Turner (teacher), Houston Graves (2018 Tournament Partner), our volunteers, our celebrity players, my advisors, parents, family, friends and the entire community.

Enjoy your holiday season! Look out for details about the 2018 Ball4Good Tournament!

 

Sincerely,

Adom Appiah

Founder – Ball4Good