CINCINNATI — The third annual Cincinnati Public Schools Basketball All-Star Showcase served a significant purpose Saturday in the lives of many students within the school district.
From the numerous sponsors to the fans who purchased tickets Saturday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena, all proceeds went to Project Connect, a program that serves students and families experiencing homelessness.
Project Connect program manager Rebeka Beach said this year's proceeds are going to be utilized to continue emergency housing.
"We provide emergency housing to families who are unhoused and meet the HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) definition of homelessness," Beach said. "So they're sleeping outside or in cars or in storage units. We've seen a huge spike in the number of families needing this service. We've identified almost 25% more students than we had last school year at this time. And just over 3,700 students. So we expect to end the year with over 4,000 students identified as experiencing homelessness. So the need is really increasing for our community."
CPS Athletics Manager Josh Hardin said a $15,000 check will be donated to Project Connect. This donation occurs after the showcase donated $25,000 overall to the program the past two years.
"We've been able to increase our donation to Project Connect year after year," said Jack Miner, University of Cincinnati's vice provost for enrollment management. "They do such a phenomenal job in the city of Cincinnati supporting our community and really being a great resource."
"We love this partnership that Cincinnati Public Schools has with UC and all the work that is put into this event. We're really grateful for the support," Beach said.
This year's showcase included an estimated 90 student-athletes from the district's 14 high schools. The schedule of events included skills competitions, 3-point contests, all-star games, a dunk contest and a cheerleader performance.
"It is rocking over here," Hardin said early Saturday afternoon. "We've got the student-athletes on the court right now. We got fans coming in. We've got our VIP and our hospitality going. The 'Hype Zone' is rolling. It is fun. I'm loving it right now."
There was also a CPS community fair, which included a focus on education and employment opportunities for students.
"UC and CPS coming together for this — it means everything to the community," Hardin said.
The showcase also recognized the late athletic director DJ Dowdy, a former athletic director at Taft and Purcell Marian who played football at UC. Hardin said a $5,000 donation was made to start a memorial trust fund for Dowdy's two sons.
