Players, donations and sponsorships are still being accepted forHoops for Kids’ Sake, a community basketball tournament that servesas the primary fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters ofMississippi and doubles as a chance for local businesses toadvertise while supporting the area’s youth.

The Lincoln County chapter of the organization will be hosting atwo-day, double-elimination tournament of half-court basketball onMarch 14 and 15 in the Family Life Center of Saint Paul MissionaryBaptist Church. The games will begin on each day at 10:30 a.m. andproceed until 8 p.m.

More than 100 children and adults have already signed on to theevent, from which 20 teams have been formed thus far, said TedricThompson, the chairman of Hoops for Kids’ Sake. The teams will playwithin their age groups, and prizes and trophies will be presentedto the winning team in each age group.

To fund the tournament and raise money for Big Brothers BigSisters, each team will be tasked with collecting donations for thecause. Each team must raise its entry fee into the tournament, andeach has also been asked to collect extra donations to go directlyinto Big Brothers Big Sisters.

“We ask that the players go out and ask family, friends andfaith-based groups to support their team with donations,” Thompsonsaid. “They can ask for donations, or they can go to businesses andask for sponsorships.”

The tournament has a sponsorship rating in place for businessesthat wish to participate. Supertalk Mississippi has alreadycontributed $10,000 to the event and claimed the title sponsorship.A donation of $5,000 will earn a local business the title ofpresenting sponsor; $2,500, the slam dunk sponsor; $1,000, a goalsponsor; and a $500 donation can purchase a team sponsorship.

Thompson said teams and businesses would be matched up asnecessary to ensure that everyone who wants to participate, on thecourt or with the checkbook, would have the opportunity.

“If we have a team that wants to play but has no sponsorship anda business that wants to sponsor but has no team, we will pair themup,” he said.

The ultimate goal of all the basketball games and sponsorshipsis the continued operation of Big Brothers Big Sisters, which hasprovided role models to 176 children in the Lincoln County areaalone since this year began, said the organization’s Lincoln Countypresident Marilyn Dow-Harris. It takes an average of $1,000 peryear to sustain the match between child and mentor.

Almost 2,500 Mississippi “littles” were matched up with “bigs”in 2007, and 500 more “littles” are currently on the organization’swaiting list. Big Brothers Big Sisters is working to provide rolemodels to 5,000 children in the state by 2010.

Anyone interested in forming a team, playing, making a donationor becoming a sponsor may contact Thompson at 601-835-5606, orDow-Harris at 601-754-7577. Dow-Harris may also be reached atMullins School during the day.

“We’re asking for anyone who wants to play to come on out, andfor anyone who wants to be a part of sponsorship or help with thefundraising to give us a call,” Thompson said. “This will be agood, family outing and it will help the youth in ourcommunity.”