Io sto con Tam Tam Basketball

TAM TAM BASKETBALL A.S.D. Sport

The story

 

 

LA CAMPAGNA CONTINUA A QUESTO LINK

https://buonacausa.org/cause/aiutiamo-tam-tam

 

 

***a brief description in English at the end of the page***

 

 

Per chi non mi conoscesse ancora, mi chiamo Massimo Antonelli ed ho dedicato la mia vita alla pallacanestro. Prima da giocatore ed ora da allenatore.

Lo scorso anno ho fondato l’associazione TAM TAM BASKETBALL, che non ha scopi di lucro. Noi si prefiggiamo di generare un impatto positivo sulla vita dei ragazzi e sullo sviluppo delle comunità immigrate con una particolare attenzione all’inclusione sociale e alle pari opportunità attraverso la sua attività sportiva e sociale.

L’associazione opera sulla foce del Volturno, su una fascia di litorale campano di circa 10 km con al centro il Comune di Castel Volturno, città dal forte disagio sociale e con la più alta incidenza di extracomunitari in Italia quasi tutti di provenienza africana con gravi problemi di inserimento.

Perchè è nata Tam Tam Basketball

- Nasce per la passione dei soci verso la pallacanestro, quasi tutti ex giocatori di successo. Gli americani la chiamano “Giving Back Philosophy” ossia il desiderio di restituire qualcosa a quella comunità (il basket) che li ha cresciuti e formati. Per questa ragione l’associazione opera in un contesto dove i ragazzi, nella quasi totalità africani, non hanno possibilità di fare sport perché l’indigenza dei loro genitori non glielo consente. Nasce per il piacere di generare gioiae crescere i giovani con i valori dello sport. Quindi i beneficiari diretti sono tutti figli di genitori africani indigenti che vivono da molti anni a Castel Volturno o zone limitrofe e che ne frequentano le scuole locali.

Stiamo dando un’opportunità a tanti ragazzi offrendo loro una sana attività sportiva totalmente gratuita(corsi di pallacanestro, partecipazione con squadre a campionati giovanili, abbigliamento), assistenza psicologica individuale e di gruppo.

Grazie alla prima campagna di crowdfunding abbiamo potuto realizzare questo desiderio. Farli giocare in un vero palazzetto dello sport. Abbiamo ristrutturato il parquet del palazzetto di Castel Volturno grazie al sostegno di oltre 250 persone.

Grazie alla seconda campagna di crowdfunding abbiamo raccolto i 12.000 euro per  acquistare un minibus per farli tornare a casa in sicurezza.

Cosa vogliamo realizzare ora.

Abbiamo bisogno di mettere in sicurezza il tetto ed aggiornare l'impianto di illuminazione.

Il tetto del palazzetto è in cattive condizioni, ci sono alcuni punti dai quali l'acqua penetra all'interno. Le forti piogge dello scorso autunno/inverno ci hanno fatto rischiare di rovinare il parquet. Solo grazie ad interventi miracolosi di asciugatura siamo riusciti a scongiurare il peggio.  Oggi dobbiamo intervenire

Il costo di energia elettrica per l'impianto di illuminazione è troppo oneroso per le nostre finanze. Vogliamo sostituire le vecchie lampade con quelle di nuova generazione. Questa sostituzione ci permetterà di rispettare di più l'ambiente con lampade ecologiche e potremo anche ridurre la salatissima bolletta energetica.

Abbiamo urgentemente bisogno del tuo aiuto per far vivere un nuovo anno magico alle nostre ragazze e ragazzi.

Grazie di cuore,

Massimo

 

Tanti amici, testate giornalistiche e televisive hanno seguito il nostro viaggio. Qui puoi vedere alcuni contributi.

 

Anche dall'estero abbiamo avuto grandi segnali di attenzione. Qui il servizio di Sophia Seymour per The Guardian con le splendide immagini di Giulio Piscicelli.

Oggi anche l'Equipe scrive di noi. Qui il servizio

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For those who do not know me yet, my name is Massimo Antonelli and I have dedicated my life to basketball. First as a player and now as a coach.

Last year I founded the TAM TAM BASKETBALL association, which is non-profit organization. We aim to generate a positive impact on the lives of many young people and on the development of immigrant communities with a particular focus on social inclusion and equal opportunities through sports and social activities.

The association operates in Castel Volturno, on a strip of the Campania coastline. Castel Volturno is a city with strong social hardship and with the highest incidence of immigrants in Italy; in which almost all are of African origin with serious assimilation problems.

 

Because of TAM TAM, Basketball was born!

 

This was born by the passion of its members towards basketball, almost all former successful players. Americans call it the "Giving Back Philosophy" or the desire to return something to that community (basketball) that has grown and trained them. For this reason, the association operates in a context where the boys, almost all Africans, have no chance to play sports because their parents' needlessness does not allow them to do so. TAM TAM was born for the pleasure of generating joy and growing young people with the values of sport. So, the direct beneficiaries are all children of destitute African parents who have been living in Castel Volturno or surrounding areas for many years and who attend local schools.

We are giving an opportunity to many young people by offering them a healthy sporting activity, which is of no cost to the individual or assistances (basketball courses, participation with teams in youth championships, clothing).

Thanks to the first crowdfunding campaign we have been able to fulfill this desire. It has allowed them to play in a real sports facility. We have renovated the gymnasium of the Castel Volturno building thanks to the support of over 250 people.

Thanks to the second crowdfunding campaign, we raised € 12,000 to buy a minibus to get them back home safely.

What we want to achieve now:

- We need to secure the roof and upgrade the lighting system. The roof of the building is in poorcondition, there are some points from which the water penetrates inside. The heavy rains of last autumn / winter made us risk ruining the gymnasium. Only thanks to miraculous drying interventions have we managed to avert the worst. Today we must intervene!

 

- The cost of electricity for the lighting system is too burdensome for our finances. We want to replace old lamps with new ones. This replacement will allow us to respect the environment more with ecological lamps and we can also reduce the high energy bill.

We urgently need your help to make our girls and boys have a magical new year.

 

Thank you so much,

 

Massimo

Many friends, journalistic and television magazines have followed our journey. Here you can see some contributions.

L'Equipe

The Guardian

 

 

Thank you Refael Kubersky

This past May I had the incredible opportunity to volunteer with Tam Tam Basketball Club near Naples, Italy. The players involved with the club are the children of West African migrants, who due to strict immigration laws, are awaiting citizenship from the Italian government. Given their uncertain status, they face overwhelming societal, economic, and political challenges in their daily lives. Tam Tam Basketball was created to provide these kids a space to escape the everyday hardship they face. Practices began on a makeshift, outdoor court in an abandoned lot, with kids running full court scrimmages bare foot, while often donning jeans and heavy collared shirts (a far cry from appropriate basketball wear). Most of the kids had never picked up a basketball before. Despite innumerable challenges, Tam Tam has thrived, giving the kids basketball shoes, basketball attire, and high level basketball training free of charge. Tam Tam was able to transform an abandoned sports hall into a gym for practices, and despite an intense legal battle, has given their kids the opportunity to compete in their regional league.

I cannot say enough about how special these kids are. It may sound cliche, but the passion and love that these kids have for the game is unparalleled. A little over a year into playing basketball and they already practically live in the gym after school, spend their leisure time nailing down basketball's fundamentals, and are more than ready to shout down any person for hours if they dare trash talk their favorite NBA player. But most importantly, basketball has given them a sense of self confidence that many of them were lacking before. When they are playing basketball, they are not defined by their legal status in the eyes of the government, but rather by their effort and camaraderie on the court.

Tam Tam relies on generous donations in order to keep their doors open and continue providing for these kids. Right now, Tam Tam needs to raise money to fix the roof of their gym and help pay for the electricity bill. You can donate on the attached link, and any amount given would be greatly appreciated. I know this has been a long post, so if you have made it to this point, thank you! If you are interested, the Guardian wrote a great article on Tam Tam's story here:

https://www.theguardian.com/…/tam-tam-basketball-team-immig…

Shouts to Coach Massimo Antonelli, Egizia Coppola, the coaching staff, volunteers at Tam Tam, and all the players. You continue to inspire me.

P.S. Someone tell Wisdom he needs some milk.