We are bringing young people together to design and construct basketball backboards from salvaged materials. The creative expression empowers kids, the construction creates jobs, and the installation creates pride in the community. This is the beginning of change in Hale County.

In June 2011, in Hale County, Alabama, six designers found themselves face-to-face with tornado damage, poverty and staggering unemployment. We spoke with many residents about living in the Rural South. What we heard was a resounding call for something to do. Young people want purpose, through jobs or recreation. We want to give them purpose, through both.

The goal of COMMON Hoops is to engage youth (ages 12-17) by creating jobs, teaching new and transferable skills, and allowing them to enjoy basketball in a new way. By designing and building basketball backboards, young residents are empowered. They take away valuable skills and give back to their own communities. COMMON Hoops can be expanded to support similar communities across the country. So we plan to combine design with basketball. 

How We're Doing It

These basketball hoops, hand-built in Hale County and crafted from found materials -  including road signs - allow kids to use their creativity to create beautiful backboards that bring DESIGN and BASKETBALL into their community. Kids in the community will take pride knowing they helped to design and build the hoops that will soon be hanging in neighborhoods like their own. Each backboard will find its home with kids in both public and private lands. When you support COMMON Hoops, you create jobs, foster mentorship and revitalize parks.  

This campaign is to help get the project going. Your money goes towards hosting events where kids will design and build hoops. Participants will be taught basic design principles, guided through the construction of their hoop, and offered the opportunity to mentor other students in future sessions.

 

Thank you for your support. (T-shirt colors above subjet to change)

Hoops and sweet gear will ship out Autumn 2011. 

HERO (Hale Empowerment and Revitalization Organization, Inc) works as a catalyst for community development in areas of the Alabama Black Belt to end rural poverty. As a non-profit housing resource center, HERO provides community resources, housing education and community development.

COMMON Hoops is a fiscally sponsored project of Hale Empowerment and Revitalization Organization, a 501(c)3 non profit organization. Donations should be made payable to Hale Empowerment and Revitalization and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

COMMON is one part community; one part business prototype; and one part collaborative brand. A living network of creative people rapidly prototyping dozens or hundreds of progressive businesses designed to solve social problems. Connected to a brand thats community designed, community owned, and community directed.

About Us

We are six designers who are united by a passion for social change. We joined forces in Greensboro, AL, during the 2011 Project M Lab to make a difference with a community unlike any wed ever known. Learn more about us here.