A day of hoops and fun supports families impacted by homelessness

The day ended with a slam dunk for Cincinnati Public Schools students.

CPS All-Star Showcase returned to UC’s Fifth Third Arena, Saturday, April 4, offering a chance for high school students in Cincinnati Public Schools to compete and show off their skills in a three-point contest, dunk fest and the All-Star games.

Their talents helped this recent event raise $20,000 for Project Connect, the CPS program designed to advocate for and provide specialized academic services and lifestyle enrichment opportunities for children experiencing homelessness. Funds also help support the Safe Sleep Lot initiative at CPS. Project Connect served more than 4,000 students last year.

The University of Cincinnati is the presenting partner of the annual event, which highlights the university’s commitment to its CPS Strong initiative.  

More than three dozen community organizations and businesses provided sponsorship for uniforms, hospitality, food and other services offered during the event. UC’s College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Resources and the UC School of Information Technology were among those sponsors. Students in UC’s sports administration program also volunteer and play an important behind-the-scenes role in making the event a success.

Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval was among the judges in the skills contest.

“This program is such a great pillar for our CPS Strong partnership – not only does it allow us to highlight some of the best student athletes in the region, but we also get to welcome the community onto campus,” explains Jack Miner, vice provost for enrollment management at UC.

Since its inception five years ago, CPS All-Star Showcase has raised nearly $80,000.

“One of the messages we hear each year is how many people who grew up in Cincinnati had never been on campus before this program,” adds Miner. “Basketball is such a rich tradition in Cincinnati, it is so fitting that we are welcoming the top players in Cincinnati, and especially at this time.  As UC begins the Coach Calhoun era, this is a great way to get the community psyched up about basketball and we likely saw a few future Bearcats playing over the weekend.”

Miner also spoke with Fox 19 the morning of the event.

He says that UC has more than 2,000 CPS graduates attending and that number grows every year because of the CPS Strong initiatives. He notes that Project Connect supports families to ensure that the students can still attend and be successful in school.  

“We have many students supported by Project Connect at UC and our partnership with CPS and Project Connect was recently featured as part of Congressional Hearings on successful programs to address college education for students who had experienced housing insecurity,” Miner adds.

Other media coverage of CPS All-Star Showcase includes additional stories on  Fox 19, WCPO, Spectrum News, WLWT and Local 12.  

Featured top image of the Girls All-Star Games in UC’s Fifth Third Arena. Photo/Cincinnati Public Schools.