On April 5, the Mark Harris Fellowship Program (MHFP) and student council hosted the ninth annual Hoops for Harris event. The three-on-three basketball tournament consisted of four different divisions: third-fourth grade, fifth-sixth, seventh-eighth, and ninth to adult, with each team having three to four players. All proceeds from the event will help fund the MHFP.
The fundraiser and program were developed as a way to honor the legacy of SHS and SIS principal Mark Harris, who passed away in 2014.
“The goal of the program is to help students from low-income families get into college, enroll in college, and graduate,” said Erin Harris, Executive Director of the MHFP, who was married to Mark Harris. “They are provided with mentoring throughout their sophomore, junior, and senior years of high school. We also partner with the Future Success Program at UW-Milwaukee, so they get a lot of resources through that program as well.”
Hoops for Harris is one way that the MHFP fundraises for these experiences. However, the program does not just include high school mentoring, but also works to help students start their college career.
“[Students] participate in a six-week summer program with the Future Success Program to help prepare them for their core classes the following year,” Harris said. “They also have a variety of resources throughout the academic year including tutoring, college visits, and college fairs with all things basically paid for by the Future Success Program and the Department of Public Instruction [and] Federal Grants.”
Although the event now primarily fundraises for the MHFP, Hoops for Harris was first established to help another cause.
“Hoops for Harris…was actually something that the school did for my family,” Harris said. “But the following year we decided to turn it into a charity event for the Mark Harris Fellowship Program, so it has been going on ever since then. ”
This year, the tournament raised more than $13,000 through sponsors and auctions alone. Registration fees also brought in additional revenue for the fundraiser.
“We had quite a few other fundraisers for the MHFP, but this one seemed to be the one that had the biggest draw and was the most successful,” Harris said. “We’ve grown it each year, and each year we’ve made more money than the last.”
Over the years, more and more proceeds have been raised for the students within the high school part of the program. As more students graduate, however, the program is starting to develop more of a focus on college students who have already graduated from the program.
“Right now we have six students in the high school part of the program and three that are in college,” Harris said. “Officially, it ends when you graduate, but there is starting to be a lot more guidance and help in support throughout the college portion, too, just because we’re very invested in the kids that graduate from the program, and we want to make sure they graduate from college.”
As for the event itself, the idea of a basketball tournament was inspired by Mark Harris’s love of basketball.
“He was a walk-on at Marquette University when he was in college in the 90s, and he was really incredibly proud to be part of that team,” Harris said. “Basketball was always a big part of his life. When he was principal here he shared that love of basketball with his students, so when he passed away it was their idea to start Hoops for Harris. When we decided to use this event to fund scholarships for students in the Mark Harris Fellowship Program, it just seemed like a natural way to do that.”
Anyone within the given age brackets can participate in the tournament. The event allows for a wide range of people to play competitive basketball, with many teams coming from the greater Milwaukee area.
“I’ve been doing Hoops for Harris [as long as] I can remember,” said Justice Tomaszewski, senior and varsity basketball player. “I do it because I like the competition, and it’s going to a good cause.”
Because of the wide reach of the event and participation across age groups, Tomaszewski described the tournament as competitive, but the goal of the event added to the experience.
“There was some solid competition. I think there was a range for sure, but throughout it was solid,” Tomaszewski said. “[One highlight was] just bringing everyone together and having a good group of guys together for a good reason.”