North Attleborough Middle School’s annual Hoops for Hearts event has once again been a success, with teachers and students setting and achieving fundraising goals and discovering that they can make a difference. The event, which gives kids the opportunity to work on basketball skills and play exciting games, raises funds for critical research and educational programs that fight heart disease and stroke.
The event involved the entire school, with the number of students from NAMS who have raised funds and participated in Hoops for Hearts reaching 16,020 over the past 25 years. This is not just a school event, it has become a community event, with outside vendors and volunteers contributing to its success.
Over the past 25 years, the school has raised a total of $1,483,493.57, making it a significant contributor to the fight against heart disease and stroke. The event has also been successful in the basketball arena, with the school winning the state championship for 23 years in a row and becoming national champions 20 times out of over 30,000 schools that participate.
The event also included a range of activities, including a school-wide knockout competition, a half-court take-a-shot incentive, a slam dunk contest, a 3 v. 3 basketball tournament, a teacher dunk tank, karaoke, inflatable obstacle courses, bounce houses, pitching radar machines, vendor activities and more. Students were also incentivized to participate and fundraise, with prizes including AHA bracelets, popper keychains, raffle entries and larger prizes such as a limo ride to Supercharged and free lunch, Woo Sox tickets, Amazon gift cards and a Supercharged Diamond Prize Pack.
Teachers were also incentivized to support the fundraising efforts of their students, with the prospect of eating unthinkable “things on live TV, having their heads shaved, dressing up in full costume for the entire school day, or being wrapped to the columns of the cafetorium by the school’s top fundraisers.
