Hoops of Hope in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, Aims to Shoot for AIDS Lab

OLD SAYBROOK - It wasn't just another day of practicing free throws at the Parks and Rec Gymnasium in Old Saybrook.

Fifty kids in the seventh and eighth grade participated in Hoops of Hope on Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. where their throws translated to pledge money aimed to help orphans of HIV and AIDS.

Associate Minister Reverend Rae Munsell said it was the first time that the kids, all members of the junior high school youth group at the First Church of Christ in Saybrook (Congregational), took part in the program.

The church is located at 366 Main Street in Old Saybrook.

While most of the kids are Old Saybrook residents, some reside in nearby Essex and East Lyme.

They created themselves a goal of 1,000 free throws, Munsell said, and they met that goal.

They raised $500 in pledges from friends and family members and Munsell expects the youth group will participate in the event next year.

As far as she knows, the church was the only one in Connecticut to take part in the event.

However, other kids were shooting free-throw line shots that day as well to support Hoops of Hope.

Kids in 32 states and 5 international locations chose the 1,000 free throw goal to remember the 1,000 kids orphaned every 4 hours by HIV and AIDS.

The church was one of 84 host sites throughout the world for World Aids Day.

100 percent of all Hoops for Hope funds collected go to World Vision who is building a medical lab and voluntary counseling center to help those devastated with HIV and AIDS in Sinazongwe, Zambia.

Hoops for Hope, an all volunteer non-profit organization, was started in 2004 by 10-year-old Austin Gutwein who wanted to raise awareness and funds for the more than 15 million children orphaned by HIV and AIDS.

On World Aids Day 2004, Austin shot over 2,000 free throws to represent more than 2,000 kids orphaned during his day at school.

Austin and other kids he recruited to join him, have raised over $140,000.

This money was used to help more than 100 orphan children and build a high school for 1,000 students in Zambia.

Austin recently attended the school dedication and the site of the lab and Munsell had the opportunity to talk with Austin and his parents on the phone which she said was quite rewarding.

On Hoops for Hope Web site, Austin wrote that currently parents who are diagnosed with HIV positive at a testing site in Sinazongwe must walk 25 or more miles when they are sick to be prescribed medication to stay alive.

"We were told that most people just die because they can't do this. The lab we're building this year will allow a dad or mom to walk into the clinic, get tested, find their blood count with the CD4 count machine, and receive ARV's to keep them alive, all in a few hours. This lab will be saving hundreds of lives every week," Austin wrote.

Everyday, 6,000 children join the 15 million children worldwide who have lost one or both parents to the disease.

For donations or further information about Hoops for Hope visit www.hoopsforhope.org and to read more about World Vision visit www.worldvision.org.