Saturday Hoops is celebrating its 18th year with its annual Dribblethon block party from Noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 14, at Ziegler Park, 1322 Sycamore Street, 45202.
Each year, Dribblethon is the culmination of another great season of Saturday Hoops, a group mentoring program serving more than 500 kids every spring in Cincinnati. The program was started by the late Ed Berg and now is a partnership with the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative.
The program runs on the foundation of four themes: Cheerful Givers, Hard Workers, Overcomers and Good Stewards. Volunteers are asked to show up for any amount of time they can to engage with the kids and pour in to them with love, confidence and positivity.
Dribblethon is a celebration to which we invite hundreds of kids, volunteers, and their families to enjoy a cookout, DJ, arts & crafts, basketball and other fun activities.
Dribblethon also serves as a kickoff event for the Summer Hoops program. Thanks to Ziegler Park, young people in the community have a place to enjoy the same benefits of community and volunteer interaction during the summer that are offered at Saturday Hoops January through May. Summer Hoops kicks off at Ziegler Park from 10 a.m.–1 p.m. May 21, and in addition to the usual fun and enriching Saturday Hoops activities also includes swimming.
Dribblethon is free and is open to the entire Cincinnati community. There will be basketball, dancing, food, art and plenty of other activities. The first 100 kids in attendance get a free new basketball.
Every Saturday morning from January through mid-May, the Saturday Hoops team opens up "The Hub" at the Cincinnati Recreation Commission Center across from Findlay Market and in 2020 expanded to a second location in Winton Terrace. Saturday Hoops provides fun, faith and positive role modeling through a variety of activities for kids 6–18, serving more than 500 kids in 2022. The activities include art, speakers, breakfast and lunch, exercise, and, of course, basketball.
