Books & Basketball

Home
United States
St. Louis, MO
Books & Basketball

http://wustlbooksandbasketball.com
We provide SLPS children with an enriched after-school academic & athletic environment for personal learning & growth.

Books and Basketball is a nonprofit organization affiliated with the independent, not-for-profit 501(c)3 St. Louis Public Schools Foundation. A typical day at Books & Basketball involves 45 minutes of homework help followed by 45 minutes of gym time. Playing basketball and other organized games provide a great opportunity for the kids to form meaningful relationships with the mentors while simulta

neously developing valuable social skills. Each mentor is assigned a day (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday) and they go on that same day every week and work with the same student. We leave the DUC at 3:15pm to head to the schools and usually arrive back at WashU around 5:20pm.

12/09/2019

Congratulations to our Mentors of the Week Mira Blumenthal and Amanda Yu! Thank you so much for your incredible dedication to our program! Mentors like you make B&B great.

Here's some more about them:
What year are you and what are you studying?
Mira: I am a senior double majoring in Finance and Entrepreneurship with a minor in Applied Math.
Amanda: i’m a junior, pre med majoring in math and psych and minoring in global health

Who do you mentor?
Mira: I have mentored a number of students throughout my time in books and basketball, but I currently mentor Ayana who is in Kindergarten.
Amanda: I mentor iyannha and zaiden (i’m now realizing i’m not sure how to spell their names ahhh)

Which would you choose: books or basketball, and why?
Mira: I would choose books because it is important to have the kids first excel in their academics before playing basketball. Even though many of the kids enjoy basketball more, I have found it very rewarding when I am able to teach them something new and make learning more engaging and enjoyable for them. I am able to know the kids on a more personal level when I am helping them learn versus playing basketball with them.
Amanda: basketball! because being i like being active it’s a lot of fun and a great way to blow off steam

Why did you join B&B?
Mira: I joined B&B as a freshman because I was interested in getting involved in a social service club on campus that focused on helping educational inequality. I was involved in a similar club in high school and was eager to learn about the educational divide in St. Louis and how I could be helpful in the larger community.
Amanda: i joined b&b bc i like working with kids and it gave me an opportunity to do so as well as give back to the st. louis community

What is your favorite memory from B&B?
Mira: My favorite memory was playing hangman with the kids after finishing all of their homework to help them learn how to spell words in a fun way.
Amanda: one of my favorite memories is from earlier this semester we couldn’t go outside but a bunch of the 1st and 2nd grade girls got into a circle with some mentors and played some of those hand slapping games where you go around the circle to a song and if it lands on you at the end you’re out. i’m not describing it very well but it was fun

What other activities are you involved in?
Mira: I am a tour guide and a member of TAMID
Amanda: i am a supervisor at the rec center, i manage the women’s varsity soccer team, and i’m going into my second year on the exec board of my sorority

Tell us a fun fact about yourself?
Mira: I am allergic to passion fruit
Amanda: i’m a certified EMT and was in the country of sierra leone in west africa for 9 weeks this summer to teach first aid

11/05/2019

Congratulations to the mentors of the week! These dedicated mentors are what make Books & Basketball great! Here's a little more about them:

What year are you and what are you studying?
Tomer: I’m a first-year student majoring in finance.
Connor: First Year studying Mechanical Engineering

Who do you mentor?
Tomer: I work with Zachary on Tuesdays.
Connor: I mentor Sam

Which would you choose: books or basketball, and why?
Tomer: Though I would love to play basketball all day long, I know that books are much more important in the future. Reading books and learning is something I love to do!
Connor: I would choose basketball because I love playing sports

Why did you join B&B?
Tomer: I joined B&B to help students in the STL community through something I feel I am pretty good at. Taking advantage of this opportunity has helped me foster a strong relationship with a student within just a few weeks and making an impact on their lives is something I am excited to partake in.
Connor: I joined B&B to meet new people and have a good time mentoring a kid

What is your favorite memory from B&B?
Tomer: My favorite memory so far was seeing some of the students pick up on new words and learn how to spell and read at a higher level.
Connor: My favorite memory from B&B is playing tag on the playground with the kids

What other activities are you involved in?
Tomer: Aside from B&B, I am heavily involved in the Jewish community on campus and hope to work with the Skandalaris center to develop a business idea.
Connor: I am also involved in Engineers without Borders and WAGS

Tell us a fun fact about yourself?
Tomer: I was born and raised in Miami except for the 2.5 years I spent in Argentina.
Connor: I am from Massachusetts and I love the Patriots and the Celtics

10/31/2019

Congratulations to our mentors of the week: Hannah Singer and Charles Berghausen. We love all the great work you're doing and how your excellent mentorship is pushing this organization forward! Learn more about them below:

What year are you and what are you studying?
Hannah: I’m a sophomore and I’m studying psychology
Charles: I’m a sophomore studying environmental policy

Who do you mentor?
Hannah: I’ve mentored all the different ages but was with the kindergarteners last time
Charles: I mentor Matthew and Zaccai

Which would you choose: books or basketball, and why?
Hannah: Basketball because it’s fun watching the kids be themselves and having fun with each other and all the mentors

Charles: I would choose books because they're the best way to learn

Why did you join B&B?
Hannah: I wanted to get involved with community service and I love kids so I thought this would be the perfect club for me
Charles: I joined b&b because I love working with kids and have been a summer camp counselor the past 2 summers

What is your favorite memory from B&B?
Hannah: Teaching the kids about the planets and coloring with them
Charles: my favorite memory so far is playing uno with rules that made me draw cards every time

What other activities are you involved in?
Hannah: Web (womens empowerment in business) and aephi
Charles: I take jazz piano classes and play intramural soccer at WashU

Tell us a fun fact about yourself?
Hannah: I taught kids how to canoe this summer at camp

Charles: a fun fact about myself is that I can almost touch my nose with my tongue

08/21/2019

There aren't enough words to express our gratitude for the endless dedication and work our recent graduate gave to the program, leading it as President in 2017. We wish Sophia Shapiro all the best in her future and thank her for having made Books & Basketball better every day. The whole B&B team will miss you ❤️

Learn more about our wonderful volunteer and team member here:

Q: What year are you and what are you studying?

A: I just graduated in may with a major in Educational Studies and minors in Children’s Studies and Design.

Q: Who do you mentor?

A: As an exec member, I tutored variety of kids for when other mentors were absent, but this past year at Biome I most often worked with Blaise in the first grade or the five fourth graders.

Q: Which would you choose: books or basketball, and why?

A: Books are important but I would choose basketball! I find the free/gym time with the students to be the best time to really get to know them and find things to connect about!

Q: Why did you join B&B?

A: I joined B&B fall of my freshman year because I was looking for an opportunity off campus to work with kids and develop my teaching skills... little did I know B&B would become one of the largest parts of my college experience.

Q: What is your favorite memory from B&B?

A: As many amazing memories as I have with all the students in the various B&B schools, I must mention the memories I have had with the Exec board. I cant necessarily pin point one... but the exec board is one of the best teams Ive ever been apart of and I cant remember a meeting where we weren’t making amazing things happens for our students and schools and also having the best time together.

Q: What other activities are you involved in?

A: I was a member of Pi Phi, worked in the admissions office as a student interviewer and worked at the WashU Nursery. Again though, B&B was my biggest involvement and what I felt most dedicated and connected too.

Q: Tell us a fun fact about yourself?

A: My pinkies are crooked and make 45 degree angles.

BIG shout out to all the people I have worked with through B&B. If you know me, you B&B meant the world to me and I cant imagine my WashU experience without it. I hope everyone can get to experience B&B and find a love for the students and school like I did!!

05/07/2019

Congratulations to our mentors of the week, Julia Chandonnet and Alec Gordon! Thanks for your great work!
Here are some facts about them:
What year are you and what are you studying?
Julia: I’m a freshman studying Finance and French.
Alec: I am a freshman in the B school, planning to major in Marketing with minors in the Business of Sports and Psychology.

Who do you mentor?
Julia: I mentor Harper and Ayana
Alec:I mentor 2nd graders.

Which would you choose: books or basketball, and why?
Julia: i would chose books because there are so many different subjects to learn about.
Alec:I would choose basketball because I have played the game my whole life and I love playing and teaching kids how to play.

Why did you join B&B?
Julia: I joined books and basketball because I wanted to get involved in the St. Louis community
Alec: I joined B&B because I saw it at the activity fair and saw a chance to give back to the community and play sports/tutor young students which I've always loved!

What is your favorite memory from B&B?
Julia: My favorite books and basketball memory is playing kickball and tag with a group of first graders!
Alec: My favorite B&B memory is creating a drawing contest game with math involved for the kids.

What other activities are you involved in?
Julia: I'm on the Relay For Life Steering Committee and I'm an OPA
Alec: I am also in Student Tour Leaders on campus.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself?
Julia: I'm a gymnastics coach and camp counselor
Alec: I ran track and cross country throughout high school and ran a 4:47 mile.

03/25/2019

Congratulations to our Mentors of the Week, Rachel Beran and Matt Halper! Thanks for your great work.
Read this post to learn more about them!

What year are you and what are you studying?
Matt: I’m a freshmen
Rachel: I am a freshman and I'm in the business school with possibly a major in economics & strategy with a minor in psychology.

Who do you mentor?
Matt: I mentor Harper in the second grade.
Rachel: I mentor a boy in kindergarten named Baron (the cutest kid ever).

Which would you choose: books or basketball, and why?
Matt: I like both but I like to be active so I would probably chose basketball.
Rachel: I would choose basketball because it is when us mentors get to interact with the kids in a more fun environment.

Why did you join B&B?
Matt: I joined B and B because I when I was in middle school I joined a similar type of club called breakthrough. At breakthrough I tutored and played with kids in a similar way as B&B. In my senior year of high school I volunteered again and really found satisfaction in my work. When I decided to join I hoped that I could make a similar to type of impact and I did.
Rachel: I joined B&B because it is a great way to give back to the St.Louis community.

What is your favorite memory from B&B?
Matt: My favorite memory from B&B is that my mentee Harper, drew me a portrait of each other and I have it hanging on my wall.
Rachel: My favorite memory is when one of the kindergartners looked really sad when we were in the gym and asked her friend for a hug. Her friend at first was very skeptical, but then complied. Once the other girl gave her a hug, the first girl yelled "tag" and ran off. I laughed hysterically and marveled at the girl's ingenuity.

What other activities are you involved in?
Matt: I am involved in TAMID which is a club where we learned and interact with the Israeli start up culture.
Rachel: I am also on the Relay For Life Steering Committee.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself?
Matt: I am a twin who goes to a different school. He is very different from me, I think the most different characteristic is that he like to go camping, go on hikes and stuff like that and I am not super outdoorsy.
Rachel: my first concert was the Jonas Brothers

02/26/2019

Congratulations to our Mentors of the Week Jack Marchetto and Lauren Pavelec! Thank for your great work! Here are some facts about them:

What year are you and what are you studying?
Jack: Senior studying Systems Engineering and Operations/Supply Chain Management
Lauren: I’m a freshman studying either fashion or com des with a double major in marketing

Who do you mentor?
Jack: Rico & Kortney
Lauren: I mentor a kindergartener named Sky. She’s so sweet! Sometimes I mentor first graders too.

Which would you choose: books or basketball, and why?
Jack: Basketball! Big Miami Heat fan
Lauren: Definitely books. I think education is so important and I’m pretty bad at basketball.

Why did you join B&B?
Jack: Teaching younger kids life lessons that I’ve learned so that they can be empowered to chase their dreams
Lauren: I love kids and tutored in high school, so I knew I wanted to continue tutoring in college and get involved in the St. Louis community.

What is your favorite memory from B&B?
Jack: Watching Rico get 100% on his math packet
Lauren: A few first graders wanted me to watch a dance they made, but every time they would start performing, they’d forget what to do and made me close my eyes as they practiced. Didn’t end up seeing most of the show but it was fun!

What other activities are you involved in?
Jack: UTrucking, Club Soccer, AEPi
Lauren: I’m also involved in Design for America and Alpha phi.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself?
Jack: Love Mario video games
Lauren: I’m a twin

12/03/2018

Congratulations to our Mentors of the Week, Callie Samton and Will Knox! B&B Exec thanks you for your great work! Keep reading to learn more about them!

What year are you and what are you studying?
Callie: I’m a first year, and undecided on a major.
Will: I’m a freshman and I’m undecided

Who do you mentor?
Callie: I mentor a kindergartener named Angel! She’s the sweetest.
Will: I mentor Draya (she goes by Jace now though)

Which would you choose: books or basketball, and why?
Callie: I would choose books. I absolutely love basketball, but reading is one of my biggest passions, and something I’ll be able to continue for the rest of my life.
Will: I’d probably choose basketball because I feel like I can get to know the kids better when we’re not focusing on homework

Why did you join B&B?
Callie: I joined books and basketball because it’s an intersection of all the things I love. I love spending time with kids, whether it’s reading, teaching, or playing. It’s also a great opportunity to get involved in the St. Louis community as a whole.
Will: I chose B&B because I did a similar program for about five years before coming here and I loved it so I wanted to continue that experience

What is your favorite memory from B&B?
Callie: My favorite memory from B&B is playing an entire game of 1 on 1 basketball with a kindergartener who was half my size. We tied.
Will: My favorite memory of B&B was the second week when Draya was really excited when I showed up because it was nice to see that she thought that I did a good job the first week

What other activities are you involved in?
Callie: I’m also a part of the Women’s Club Basketball Team, and a blogger for Wash U’s student blog.
Will: I’m also involved in the Sports Analytics Club and not much else now, but I’m hoping to join more clubs in the future

Tell us a fun fact about yourself?
Callie: Fun fact: my favorite food is mac n’ cheese
Will: A fun fact about me is that I have the same birthday as my grandpa

11/25/2018

Congratulations to our mentors of the week, Kira Harris and Prathamesh Chati!! Thank you for your great work! Keep it up!

Learn more about them:

What year are you and what are you studying?
Prathamesh: Im a first year and im studying biochemistry and computer science with a minor in finance
Kira: I’m a freshman, and I’m not sure yet, but I think I’m going to major in psychology.

Who do you mentor?
Prathamesh: I mentor arielle, davin and ellijah
Kira: I mentor Courtney.

Which would you choose: books or basketball, and why?
Prathamesh: Ideally i would choose basketball because it gives me chance to interact with the kids i mentor in a more competitive manner
Kira: I would choose books because I like reading and learning, and I’m not very good at basketball.

Why did you join B&B?
Prathamesh: I joined BB becuase i thought it would be a great opportunity to help combine sports and academics
Kira: I joined books and basketball because I love kids, and I was really excited about an opportunity to get to hang out with them and have a good time, and I also really like tutoring, so being able to help them out with their homework sounded fun too!

What is your favorite memory from B&B?
Prathamesh: My favorite memory was probably when i had the chance to play a two on 1 game with two of the kids i mentored. I was trying to teach them to work as a team to beat me rather than individually trying to score
Kira: My favorite memory from books and basketball is probably when all of the kids started pretending they were dead when we were on the playground, and we would carry them to a different spot and set them down, and they thought it was really fun.

What other activities are you involved in?
Prathamesh: In also involved in city faces and each one teach one
Kira: I’m also involved in ultimate frisbee, synapse philanthropy committee, and teach ESL.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself?
Prathamesh: I love to play the piano
Kira: A fun fact about me is I can make my eyes look two different directions at once.

11/13/2018

Congratulations to our mentors of the Week, Katie Chaiken and Ben Grobstein! Thanks for your great work!
Here's some info on them!

What year are you and what are you studying?
Ben: I’m a senior studying physics and finance.
Katie: I am a first year and am planning on studying psychology and computer science

Who do you mentor?
Ben: Rico.
Katie: I mentor Courtney

Which would you choose: books or basketball, and why?
Ben: Books, because my basketball skills are pretty lacking.
Katie: Definitely books because I am a lot better at teaching addition and subtraction than catching a ball

Why did you join B&B?
Ben: I joined B&B because I like working with kids, and I wanted to get involved in the community outside of WashU.
Katie: I took part in similar mentoring programs in high school and really wanted to get involved in the St. Louis community!

What is your favorite memory from B&B?
Ben: My favorite memory is from a time at B&B during my sophomore year when we played kickball with the kids. It was a lot of fun!
Katie: When I was stuck as the monkey in monkey in the middle for a solid 15 minutes when playing with two third graders

What other activities are you involved in?
Ben: I TA for an intro physics course.
Katie: I have been involved with Campus Y events and am planning on getting more involved in the spring!

Tell us a fun fact about yourself?
Ben: I love politics and current events
Katie: I have a 3-legged dog named Leo

11/02/2018

Congratulations to our Mentor of the Week, Rex Herzberg! Read to learn more about him! Keep up the great work Rex!
What year are you and what are you studying?
Senior studying biology

Q: Who do you mentor?
I mentor Elijah

Q: Which would you choose: books or basketball, and why?
I would choose basketball because I'm better at playing basketball than reading

Q: Why did you join B&B?
I joined Books and Basketball because I have always enjoyed spending my time in a mentor role while also getting to have fun with kids, and B&B seemed perfect for that

Q: What is your favorite memory from B&B?
Literally not being able to tag a single kid when I was "it" we were playing outside

Q: What other activities are you involved in?
I spend a lot of my time doing research in a cancer lab and volunteering for Claire McCaskill's campaign!

Q: Tell us a fun fact about yourself?
For every summer during high school I rode an Ice Cream Bike as my summer job

08/03/2018

As Welcome Week and the fall semester approaches, we encourage you to support Books & Basketball by buying tickets to the Saturday Welcome Week Event hosted by Pyramid Productions. A portion of their profits will go to our organization and will help us ensure a successful program for this coming year. Not only will be it be a fun night, but also an opportunity for you to donate to Books & Basketball’s cause!
We hope to see you there!

Head over to their event page to learn more: https://www.facebook.com/events/272599473321326/

Address

St. Louis, MO

Website

http://wustlbooksandbasketball.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Books & Basketball posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Books & Basketball:

Shortcuts

Want your organization to be the top-listed Non Profit Organization in St. Louis?