Huge Camp Announcement

In 2010, SDFL will once again be hosting camps around San Antonio. The schedule is still coming together but here’s a sneak peek at the dates and locations:
June 28-July 1 Wagner High School and Harlandale Middle School (boys)
July 5-8 Wagner High School and  July 6-10 Harlandale Middle School (girls)

2010 Camp News

Slam Dunk for Life will once again be hosting summer camps
for San Antonio at-risk youth.
Please stay tuned for camp dates and locations to be announced.

2010 will be an extremely important summer in the lives of the youth we serve
so please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Slam Dunk for Life.

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

A SUPER Sunday for a SUPER Cause

Come watch the big game on the big screens at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar and you’ll be helping to change the lives of San Antonio youth.

For $50 you’ll receive unlimited “FOOTBALL” food, beer and wine
from the opening kick until the final play.
*kids 12 and under are only $25

SUNDAY, February 7, 2010
5:00 pm

All proceeds from the evening will sponsor San Antonio at-risk youth to attend Slam Dunk for Life and Touchdowns for Life summer camps. Contact Brandon Parrott for more information – 210.882.7263

READ MORE ABOUT SLAM DUNK for LIFE

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar
255 Basse Road
San Antonio, TX 78209
210-824-9463 Phone

MAP

Click HERE to Visit Fleming’s on the Web

Thank you Fleming’s for supporting San Antonio’s youth and allowing us to benefit from this wonderful event. This will be the hottest place in town and definitely the best food and drink — AND you will be helping Slam Dunk for Life continue to bring great programs to San Antonio’s Youth!

MORE from Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar:

Just as our city is known for its unique history and the famous Alamo, Fleming’s is known for its world-class food and wine, lively and comfortable atmosphere and gracious service.

Join us for dinner or a drink after work. Our menu features the finest aged prime beef and market-fresh seafood. Our award-winning selection of 100 wines by the glass will delight wine enthusiasts. Our steaks were among the top rankings by Texas Monthly in the December 2007 issue.

We are located in the heart of San Antonio, situated in the Alamo Quarry Mall, minutes from the Airport and downtown San Antonio on Hwy. 281.

We look forward to the pleasure of your company.

Don’t let your blessings become a curse.

Luke 12:48 says that “To whom much is given much is required and whoever has been entrusted with a lot even greater is expected.“

I was reminded of this passage during a Christmas sermon that I heard this past week but never had it resonated inside me like it does now. I get it! I see how we can all fall short of our potential and live a life that doesn’t deliver the level of fulfillment we expect.  It’s the very blessings and gifts that we are given that many times become our greatest stresses.  The house that keeps us warm and safe becomes a huge irritant because of a leaky faucet.  The house that you are blessed with has the potential to be a safe haven, a gathering place to friends and family.  Or maybe a rescue center  for a child in need.  Take a deep breath and stop the cycle of negativity.

Consider how much happier we could all be if instead of complaining about our family obligations we gave thanks to God for giving us a family.  My daughter had a classmate that lost her dad in a motorcycle accident just days before Christmas.  On Christmas eve my 8 year old daughter turned to me and said “Dad, I can’t imagine what it would be like to have Christmas without you. It would be really hard.”  I hope she maintains that same appreciation for me when she hits her teen years.

Many times our jobs are a huge source of discontent.  Start each day focusing on how thankful you are to have a job.  In these trying economic times, that is a luxury that many don’t have.  After realizing how blessed you are just to have a job, start examining all of the opportunities that your current job provides or could provide for you.  Are there opportunities for advancement? Is there an opportunity to develop skills that will help you pursue a job that you really want? How about your co-workers? Is there anybody around you that you can learn from? Even the ones that you don’t like to be around can teach you how not to conduct yourself.

Don’t miss an opportunity to learn or give thanks.  If many of us will take a step back from our current worries or concerns we’ll see that we have let our blessings turn into curses in our life.  When you come out of your house to a flat tire on your Acura.  Praise God that you have a car and don’t have to walk 2 miles in the cold to the bus stop each morning.  I know this is easier said than done but please join me in trying.  We just might make our world a better place or at least see it as a better place.

The Value of Sport

by Brandon Parrott
Executive Director, Slam Dunk for Life

Ask me what my favorite memory from childhood is and if you asked me again tomorrow I would give you a completely different answer.  The one thing that is guaranteed  to be consistent is that no matter what day of the week you ask me, my favorite memory will involve sports.  Whether it was winning the Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament in Illinois, playing in the 1995 Aloha Bowl or waking up at sunrise in Estes Park, Colorado to stretch before a day at FCA camp, my life has been shaped, molded, changed, enhanced, impacted, devastated, influenced, and blessed by the opportunities and experiences sport provided me.  Not only did I gain great memories but I learned important life lessons that have helped me outside of athletics.  Roles and positions that I was put in helped prepare me to be a better student, a better husband and now a better father.

Here are some interesting documents on the Value of Sport:
Sport England & the Value of Sport

I’m glad their are researchers out there gathering scientific data to support what my heart, eyes and ears have witnessed first hand. It is my strong conviction that through sport lives can be changed. It changes communities and is one of the single greatest things that influences social change in the world.

That is why I believe in Slam Dunk for Life.  That is what excites me about 2,000 kids signing up for SDFL camps this July.  If just one child can develop their self confidence, change their pattern of poor behavior or be inspired by the lessons we will teach, then it is worth every penny that goes into  putting on these camps.

Faith and Family Night

So many organizations in the San Antonio area pull together to support the Slam Dunk for Life programs all year. One of these great teams is the San Antonio Silver Stars.

Every participant that completes an SDFL camp this summer will receive tickets to a Silver Stars WNBA game. The Silver Stars are proving their commitment to our community by providing each participant with a voucher for 4 tickets to the July 17 game against Connecticut.

This will be an awesome opportunity for our students to take part in a Silver Stars game and get to hear a player speak after the game on the importance of faith and family in their success.

Go Stars Go!

You can purchase tickets to the Silver Stars Faith & Family night by following this link:

BUY SILVER STARS FAITH & FAMILY NIGHT TICKETS
Use promotional Code: SDFL

SDFL around town

Slam Dunk for Life camps would not be possible without area high schools opening their gyms for our kids to come in.

We are extremely excited and thankful for this year’s hosts. While the gyms at most area high schools sit empty this summer the following are being used to change lives:

• Edison High School
• Highlands High School
• McCollum High School
• Roosevelt High School
• Wagner High School
• Vale Middle School

Summer Basketball Camps help At-Risk Youth

Slam Dunk for Life’s mission is to improve the physical, mental, and social health of at-risk youth in the Greater San Antonio area.

Currently SDFL serves at-risk students from over 40 middle schools and ten school districts in San Antonio and its surrounding areas. The 2008 participating school districts included: Edgewood ISD, Harlandale ISD, Ft. Sam Houston ISD, Judson ISD, North East ISD, Northside ISD, San Antonio ISD, and Somerset ISD. Expansion districts for 2009 will include Schertz/Cibolo/Universal City ISD and Southside ISD.

Using basketball as a means to teach life lessons continues to be the ultimate focus of the program. Our vision for the future is to establish a model youth development initiative consisting of year-round programs that provide character-building activities and promote life values. As a result, we hope to increase the number of at-risk students obtaining higher education, thus improving their overall lifetime earnings. Specifically, SDFL Leadership Camp objectives include: 1) increasing the number of days students are in attendance the following academic year, 2) decreasing the number of office referrals students receive the following academic year, and 3) improving student perception of the importance of education in maintaining a good quality of life.

The current accomplishments of SDFL’s Leadership Camps are numerous. Since 2002, the program has grown from two to ten participating school districts, including students from six to over 40 middle schools in the San Antonio area. In 2002, 250 students attended four SDFL camps. The total number of students served over the years is 6,986. We now hold 12 camps across the city annually with over 1,500 students in attendance.

Visit Us Online at www.SlamDunkforLife.com