Stickman Classic 2017 Awards Celebration
September 23, 2017 - New York - the Noah’s Arc Foundation hosted the annual Stickman Classic awards ceremony at the Long Island City YMCA, celebrating the 150 players and their families from the champion and runner up teams from the summer league that served over 600 boys and girls from all five boroughs.
The Stickman Classic youth basketball tournament was co-founded by Joakim Noah of the New York Knicks and Co-Founder of Noah’s Arc Foundation and his mentor Mr. Tyrone Green 10 years ago and has grown every year. This year, Noah’s Arc Foundation hosted a special awards celebration that was kicked off by Stanley Simon, Athletic Director of the Long Island City YMCA who leads the Stickman Classic tournament throughout the summer.
Hundreds of players and their families were also treated to remarks by Jimmy Van Bramer, Majority Leader of the New York City Council and Council Member for the 26th District who has invested greatly in the success of the Long Island City YMCA who talked about the importance of community and it all starts with great work through partnerships like what we've built together over the years.
Councilman Van Bramer then introduced Joakim who talked openly with the youth about his experiences growing up in New York basketball and the importance of having a mentor like Mr. Green. As an NBA veteran, Joakim shared his pride in welcoming Frank Ntilikina, first round pick rookie for the New York Knicks and fellow Frenchman, to the event and in having his new teammate's first NBA and New York activities involve giving back to the community, which has long been very important to Joakim and his family.
The youth also had the opportunity to hear from Joakim's mother and Co-Founder and President of Noah’s Arc Foundation Cecilia Rodhe who introduced the youth to the Drop of Consciousness movement. The youth then joined Rodhe in creating a Noah’s Arc Foundation Peace Wall that displayed their expressions about what peace looks like to them.
“Peace to me is family, without it society will crumble”
“Peace to me is an environment with no violence and everyone feels safe.”
When the youth were finished building the Noah’s Arc Foundation Peace Wall, they joined Joakim on the court for a shooting competition. Joakim, Cecilia, and Frank closed out the day by passing out awards to the youth which displayed the Drop of Consciousness and the pillars of Noah’s Arc Foundation: unity, awareness, consciousness, and gratitude.
Also joining the event was Ebony Conely-Young, Executive Director of the Long Island City YMCA who has led the partnership with Noah's Arc Foundation for many years; as well as runners from the Noah's Arc Foundation NYC Marathon team who are running to raise funds and awareness for our mission including Sarah Scully, Jennifer Scully, and Richard Lerner.
We appreciate everyone who made the event a great success and look forward to next summer's Stickman Classic!
(L to R) Joakim Noah of the New York Knicks and Co-Founder of Noah's Arc Foundation; Anna-Claire Whitehead, Executive Director of Noah's Arc Foundation; Stanley Simon, Athletic Director of the Long Island City YMCA; Cecilia Rodhe, Co-Founder and President of Noah's Arc Foundation; Jimmy Van Bramer, Majority Leader of the New York City Council and Council Member for the 26th District; Frank Ntilikina of the New York Knicks; and Ebony Conely-Young, Executive Director of the Long Island City YMCA
Photos credit Ukwan Milliner, @ukwan._ on Instagram