The Harlem Wizards basketball team visited North Bergen grammar schools last week to spread the word about their upcoming fundraising game against the North Bergen school district faculty, but they also brought a more important message of community involvement.
On Tuesday, player Mike “Big Mike” Mathews held two assemblies for the students of McKinley Elementary School.
The events were meant to get students interested in attending a fundraising game scheduled for 7 p.m. on Dec. 2 at North Bergen High School’s basketball court. The Wizards will face a team of North Bergen district teachers. The $10 tickets and concession stand sales raised at the game will be split with the Wizards, with North Bergen earning 40 percent of the proceeds.
“I think besides recreationally it is also a very good educational value to see real life in action.” – Joanne Colello-Harrington.
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Last year’s January game raised $3,000 for the cause. Marija Kero, the NYC/New Jersey sales representative for the Wizards, said this year they hope to shatter their previous goal by raising $4,000.
About the kids
While Mathews was at McKinley school to promote his upcoming game, he said that speaking with the students meant a lot to him.
He said he gets questions from students across the country and world that range from how tall he is, to what his shoe size is and about his job.
Mathews, originally from Florida, has played professional basketball overseas and has toured with the Harlem Globetrotters. He said his job’s main goal was to “put smiles on people’s faces.”
Still, he often deals with real issues when touring the country. At McKinley School, Principal Joanne Colello-Harrington asked him to speak to the upper grades about bullying.
“I think besides recreationally, it is also a very good educational value to see real life in action,” said Colello-Harrington.
Mathews said that he often speaks about character building or goal setting and that bullying itself is a very important issue.
“We’ve had this before, we’ll be at a school and a kid will come up to me because he might not feel comfortable talking to a teacher or a principal and say ‘That kid is always messing with me,’” said Mathews. “Just little things like that we can prevent from becoming a bigger problem.”
While at the school, Mathews played a game with grades first through fourth in which he tried to trick students into not catching the basketball he threw at them. A student named Victoria won two free tickets to the upcoming North Bergen game.
For a good cause
Mathews, who played in last year’s game in North Bergen, said that he hopes this year’s turnout will be as good.
Kero said that the Wizards, who play around 300 games a year, really enjoy spreading good messages for students.
“These guys are really personal, and this is why they love to work for good causes,” said Kero.
For more information on the upcoming game, visit www.facebook.com/theharlemwizards or www.harlemwizards.com.
Tricia Tirella may be reached at TriciaT@hudsonreporter.com.