Milk Crate Basketball

12/22/2023

Another round of new shoes going to some deserving KIDS.

THANK YOU for your continued support.

10/23/2023

When Milk Crate Basketball was first launched I asked for and received a nice selection of 'lightly used' shoes that I planned on distributing as needed.

But I found myself unable to dish out assists to these deserving kids in the form of used shoes. It didn't feel right. I wanted them to open a box with a new pair of shoes that they'd lace up and break in themselves.

I ended up donating the donated shoes, so they did go to a good home. And we've been able to supply new Nike, Under Armour, And 1, Adidas and Fila to all kinds of deserving KIDS.

This is the current assortment on their way to some deserving feet :)

THANK YOU for all the continued support toward our efforts of "Giving KIDS an Assist".

10/12/2023

🏀 Another school year is well underway, which brings another opportunity to dish out more Milk Crate Basketball assists. In fact, we've already helped a number of KIDS already with TCAPS LEAP fees, apparel and new shoes.

And, we're back to playing "Old Guys Basketball" every week. Though the reality is most guys in the gym don't really qualify, it's really only a few of us. But I still like to call it "Old Guys Basketball"...and my knees and ankles agree.

Not much to report, just a simple Facebook post letting you know that, as the late great Jimmy Buffett song title goes, Milk Crate Basketball is still "Quietly Making Noise".

"We're quietly making noise, making noise
Starts with kindergarten toys
Not too soft, not too loud
Just enough to draw a crowd
Quietly, quietly, quietly making noise"

🏀 If you'd like to support the efforts of "Giving KIDS an Assist" you can donate here: https://www.milkcratebasketball.org/donate

05/25/2023

We like this.

04/19/2023

Shoot Hoops. Not People.

We live in a world where our KIDS are all too familiar with active-shooter drills, school lockdowns and mass-shootings in the news.

Will a t-shirt fix this problem? Of course it won't. But the message, as simple and uneasy as it is, is worth spreading.
AND...100% of net profit goes directly toward our efforts of "Giving KIDS an Assist".

https://www.milkcratebasketball.org/locker-room

03/15/2023

LOVE THIS:

"Playing basketball with a broken milk crate attached to a telephone pole definitely isn’t glamorous. For some people, it’s not the kind of thing they’d brag about to their friends. But, truth be told, that’s the beauty of the game, Swin. A dreamer can play anywhere. It’s something to be proud of, Swin. It really is. It says a lot about who you are. There’s something undeniably resourceful about doing that, something to be said for finding a way to work with what you have.

Then building out from there. Little by little."

Then, one day, if you play your cards right, you’ll even get paid to play this game.

03/03/2023

Shoot Hoops. Not People.

We live in a world where our KIDS are all too familiar with active-shooter drills, school lockdowns and mass-shootings in the news.

Will a t-shirt fix this problem? Of course it won't. But the message, as simple and uneasy as it is, is worth spreading.

AND...100% of net profit goes directly toward our efforts of "Giving KIDS an Assist".

https://www.milkcratebasketball.org/locker-room

02/20/2023

Traverse City friends -- if you know of anyone with 2nd & 3rd graders who might be interested in a Milk Crate Bball assist, they can learn more about registration and about Milk Crate Basketball here --> https://tce.me/ih3zv4

04/09/2021

MILK CRATE BASKETBALL IS STILL ALIVE AND WELL (I learned to type in all caps like that from my mom's text messages!)

We've just been very quiet since COVID hit and impacted youth sports in a major way. And, to be quite candid, we've been laying low like many others and navigating this pandemic world we all have been living in.

However, with the arrival of spring and warmer temps, I'm hopeful we can dish out some assists for summer break.

In fact, just last week we provided a new portable hoop, shoes, balls and some Milk Crate Basketball swag to a very deserving young man who has been dealt a tough hand.

A recent email from his mom said, "I cant thank you enough this truly has been an amazing blessing!"

As I said in my reply, "That's what we are here for."

Because, it is.

06/04/2020

For 13 years, from Kindergarten thru 12th grade, I experienced -- 8 different home addresses, resulting in 4 different elementary schools, 2 different middle schools and 3 different high schools.

School was miserable. Being the perpetual ‘new kid’ was miserable. I have mostly fuzzy, sh*tty, miserable memories when it comes to school. I can only remember one teachers name. One!

However, there are a handful of very clear, positive, fun memories that I re-visit often. One of my favorites also happens to be one of my oldest. It was very early in my elementary years. We lived just north of Flint (Michigan). I remember this wonderful mix of white and black little kids all learning and playing together. Of course, we didn’t look at each other as ‘black and white’. We were just kids. It was pure. It was innocent. It was perfect.

Life became much ‘whiter’ as I grew up. Now that I live in Traverse City (northern Michigan)…it’s about as white as all the snow we get each winter.

I’m thankful that at a young age I was part of a school district that had a mix of white and black kids. That experience absolutely shaped my view on race. I’m pretty damn sure I’m not racist…but that sure is easy to say when you live in a predominantly white area.

Considering what’s happening in the world, I know I’ve been taking a serious internal look at my true feelings and thoughts. I’m happy with what I’m discovering, but I’m also realizing I still have a lot to learn and I have a ginormous responsibility to educate my young white daughters…beyond simple parenting statements. I don’t know exactly how to do it…but I will be actively tackling it, I know that much.

When I started Milk Crate Basketball, it was with a desire to give KIDS an assist. And let’s be honest…I’m really trying to ‘assist’ the younger version of myself, at least that’s how I’ve self-psychoanalyzed it. And if I think back to growing up with basketball as such an important part of my life (the only ‘consistent’ thing that I had), I can also see all those times when it was just a collection of white and black kids together on an outdoor court playing basketball. It was pure. It was innocent. It was perfect.

After 45 trips around the sun, I would have thought I’d have ‘it’ figured out by now. Turns out…I’m not even close.

Thank you for all the continued support.

Rod

06/03/2020