About

The Start of Hoops for Haiti

In March of 2009, former college soccer player Sarah Aubry traveled to Pillatre, Haiti with a group from Eastview Christian Church in Normal, Illinois, USA. While in Haiti, Sarah led a soccer camp for the children of Pillatre. Part of the team that Sarah was with built a basketball court and put up 3 basketball hoops.

When the court and the hoops were completed, Emmanuel (Manno) Laguerre, the director of Haitian Christian Ministries, took the first shot. Sarah captured Manno’s first shot. After taking the shot, Manno told those standing near him that he and the people of Pillatre would really like to learn “American Basketball.” Hearing this, Sarah said that her husband, Mark Aubry, a former college basketball player and a former director of summer basketball camps, would likely be the one that could do this.

Fueled by Sarah’s passion for the people of Haiti, she encouraged her husband, Mark, to get involved and lead a basketball camp for the children of Pillatre. As the Aubrys began to talk to friends and family about the people of Haiti, Mark’s cousins, David Provance and Adam Provance were enthused and became involved as well.

In August of 2009, Mark was “officially” asked to lead a basketball camp in the city of Pillatre, Haiti for up to 1,000 boys and girls. Pillatre (pronounced “pee yat”) is located in the northern part of Haiti, not far from the northern coast. 80% of the population of Haiti live below the poverty line, with 54% living in what we would consider abject poverty. Therefore, simple items, like having shoes to wear, are not common. After taking time to consider the request, Sarah and Mark knew that apart from the game of basketball being relatively new to Haitians, most of the boys and girls attending the camp would not have shoes, let alone basketball shoes. Mark called on one of his best friends (and cousin), Adam Provance, also a former college basketball player, to help lead the camp.

This led to the creation of Hoops for Haiti. In March of 2010, our team will be leading a group of “basketball missionaries” on a trip to Pillatre. But before we go, it is our goal to have the children equipped with the things necessary to play the game of basketball. We would like to provide the children of Pillatre with not only shoes to play in, but to experience what is like to be a basketball player with basketballs to play with, and even perhaps a basketball jersey to wear.

We do not ask basketball programs for money. We ask for donations of used basketball equipment: basketball shoes, used basketballs and old team uniforms or practice jerseys. Items like these, that have been cycled through your programs or households and are perhaps outdated by our standards, will come as welcome gifts to the children of Pillatre as we help them experience what it is like to be basketball players. We have a very big goal of putting a pair of basketball shoes on each and every basketball player that comes to the Hoops for Haiti basketball camp.

Please take time to consider the following:

  • donate a pair of basketball shoes
  • donate used basketballs
  • donate old uniforms and/or practice jerseys
  • allow Mark or Adam the opportunity to speak to your basketball program about Hoops for Haiti
  • donate $25 (or more) for a free T-Shirt

Thank you for your support.

Sarah and Mark Aubry and Adam Provance