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Community Corner

MVP Kicks off 20th season with a celebration in Scarsdale

(White Plains, NY)…..Stan Greene never forgot that his parents couldn’t afford to send him to summer camp when he was a child. In 1994 Stan founded MVP Basketball Camp with the idea that no child should ever be turned away due to an inability to pay. Twenty years later, MVP reached the milestone of 5000 scholarship awards granted since inception, an accomplishment recognized last Tuesday by Deputy County Executive Kevin Plunkett during a private wine tasting party held at Zachy’s Wine and Liquor in Scarsdale. Zachy’s donated some of the proceeds from wine sales to MVP’s scholarship fund, and Chat American Grill donated appetizers.  

 

Stan recruited many high profile guest speakers to mentor the campers over the years, including Hall of Famer Nate “Tiny” Archibald. Nate was a guest of MVP’s Board of Directors at Tuesday’s event, signing autographs and telling stories the entire evening. He remembers telling MVP Campers back in 1995 that there are more important things in life than basketball. Nate had to work hard to improve his poor academic standing and get into college, and he didn’t complete his undergraduate degree prior to entering the NBA. But after his playing days, Nate went on to gain a Master’s degree from Fordham University and even began work towards a Doctorate.

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The wine tasting event was organized by Scarsdale native and MVP Board member Marnie Gelfman, who had this to say about her work with the non-profit organization. “My son Max, a long-time MVP camper, came home one day and told me that he had met some friends who couldn’t come back next week because their families couldn’t afford tuition. He was glad they could come for one week on scholarship but it was an eye-opener for him that not every child could afford something that he took for granted. I immediately saw the value of the program and have been involved ever since. And Max has formed a Junior Board of Directors that supports the scholarship program.”              

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MVP Basketball Summer Day Camp begins its 20th summer in White Plains on July 7th, kicking of four separate one-week sessions that end August 1st. There are still limited openings. After camp on July 25th MVP will host a public 20th anniversary celebration at its camp facility, the White Plains Middle School on Grandview Avenue. Sponsored by Entergy, the Westchester Knicks, and Tommy Copper, this event will feature food, drink, ice cream, and the New York Knicks Groove Truck, plus lots of fun basketball contests for children and adults. For more information contact Noel Muyskens at (914) 946-1231

 

About MVP Basketball Camp

MVP Basketball Camp teaches basketball and life skills to a diverse camper population of boys and girls ages 6 – 16. MVP usually stands for “Most Valuable Player,” but at this camp MVP stands for “Most Valued Person.” Every camper receives a medal at the end of each week and is encouraged to take the lessons learned on the basketball court and apply them to everything they do.   

 

MVP Basketball Camp offers scholarship awards to over 300 deserving boys and girls each year. These awards are given out both to children of low income families in need of economic assistance and to children with a family member serving in the armed forces through MVP's "Hoops for Troops" program. "Basic awards" provide one full week at no charge. Stan Greene Memorial Scholarship awards are also available that can cover the total tuition for more than one week, but these are limited in number and are highly competitive.





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