By Bob Groeneveld and Dan Ferguson/黑马磁力
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When Shannon Kao saw poor people living on the street a few years ago, 鈥淚t was really just eye-opening.鈥�
Apparently, it was also heart-opening for the young 黑马磁力 girl, now in the 11th grade at R.E. Mountain Secondary School.
She has decided that she has to do something to help those who are lacking the life advantages that she enjoys, and she鈥檚 starting from the bottom 鈥� literally.
She wants to give them shoes, and her own sports background gave her the inspioration for how to accomplish that goal: the idea for Buckets4Boots 鈥� a youth three-on-three basketball tournament for charity 鈥� was born.
鈥淢y purpose is to support impoverished individuals and families in our community,鈥� Kao said.
鈥淏y providing proper footwear for their living conditions,鈥� Kao said, 鈥渋t鈥檚 my hope that I can help out at least a little bit in the community.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e found that teens and children nowadays purchase elaborately designed and costly athletic gear, and specifically shoes, without a second thought,鈥� she said, 鈥渨hile there are people on the streets with nothing that even resembles a sock.
鈥淲hen I saw the people in our community who couldn鈥檛 even afford shoes to protect their feet, it really allowed me to reflect on the luxuries I鈥檝e gotten used to. I felt sheltered, as I didn鈥檛 even think to consider that people could be living in conditions that far off from my everyday.鈥�
Having played basketball for five years of her young life, Kao admitted, 鈥淚鈥檝e lived with the comforts of flashy athletic gear campaigns and players that boast their shoes before their skills.鈥�
Her mom often made the point, she said, 鈥渢hat my basketball shoes are just my 鈥榯ools鈥� for battle鈥� on the basketball court.
Buckets4Boots, she hopes will help to provide those 鈥渢ools鈥� to those who need them on the streets, while also reminding local youth athletes of the privilege they enjoy.
The tournament will be held at R.E.Mountain Secondary School on April 6. Eight teams will begin round robin play at 10 a.m. Finals will begin at 1 p.m. Rules and registration details are available at buckets4boots.pb.online/.
All proceeds from Buckets4Boots will go to help people who cannot afford to purchase proper footwear to protect them from the weather and streets.
鈥淭here are people out there who need help to get back up on their feet,鈥� the Buckets4Boots website notes, 鈥渁nd they can鈥檛 stand for long unless they have the proper protection on their feet.鈥�
