CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A basketball clinic this weekend on Chicago’s West Side aims to teach the children of people in prison about the sport and larger life lessons.
It will be the third time that Angel Tree Sports Camp has hosted a basketball clinic in Chicago. Senior Program Manager Schuyler Shanen said they expect 200 children to come to the Quest Multisport Center in Garfield Park.
“We try to have it be a day where it’s not only about the child, but about the parents, as well,” Shanen said.
Among those who will be talking and playing with the kids is Brandon Johnson — not the mayor, but a former college basketball All-American and NBA recruit. Johnson was sentenced to six months in prison for a point-shaving scheme during his senior year at the University of San Diego.
“He’ll be able to share with these kids some of the trials and tribulations that they’ll be going through in their life, especially those being raised by single parents,” Shanen said.
Shanen, who grew up with five siblings by his mother while his father was in prison, said he has a sense of what the kids are dealing with.
“We were told not to talk about it because it was embarrassing or shameful, but not realizing that there were so many kids around me who were affected by the same thing,” he said. “So, all of these kids are coming, and they don’t have to hide it.”
The free day camp is sponsored by the Christian charity Prison Fellowship, and each child will go home with a new basketball, a pair of Nike shoes and a bible.
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