Two brothers sought to support Ukrainian families looking for safety, home and food in Poland. They used their love for basketball to fuel a fundraising idea.
They called it "3's for Ukraine".
The Mendoza family has direct ties to Poland with family born and raised there. Their grandmother's hometown Jastrzebie Zdroj has been assisting over 200 families in Poland who have relied on volunteers and donations to make their transition as smooth as possible.
The brothers rallied together with fellow hoopers and sold made 3-point shots for $3 and made free-throws for $1. The boys set an initial lofty goal of raising $500.
The story then caught fire. Soon, they had more shots sold than they could count and they needed help.
We brought Benjamin, Nathaniel and their team into our Dish Lab shooting academy back on March 12th, and in eight hours they got up nearly 1,500 free throws and more than 3,600 3-pointers, contributing to over $35,000 in donations!
We are humbled by the hard work and selflessness of the young hoopers, our local community and everyone else who has contributed to this effort.
This story reminds us, regardless of what is going on in our world, there are a few things we can always control...
One of those is the attitude that helps us BE BETTER EVERY DAY.
For more information and to donate, visit their GoFundMe page.