Aloha Vertical Sports family,
As we approach the end of year 2019, we reflect on how this year has been nothing short of blessed! We celebrated our 10-year anniversary for basketballMAUI, while launching our expansion to Vertical Sports Maui to accommodate different sports. Thank you for your support! In order to make 2020 even better, we are inviting you to partner with us in supporting our Year-end Giving to help launch two new sports through Vertical Sports Maui!
To direct the expansion this year, we hired Josh Duinker as our Executive Director, who felt was being led to retire early from his professional international basketball career, following a calling on his life to see sports used to impact people’s lives.
We held our very first baseball clinic which saw an amazing 135 kids participate. We were able to bring out Major League Baseball players, the director of the LA Dodgers training academy, and a motivational speaker to speak life and hope into our keiki.
The question everyone has been asking since baseball camp is.. what sport next?! We are working on a number of sports, one is surfing! In order to continue to expand to different sports we need your financial support.
We are excited to announce the launch of our new website! “verticalsportsmaui.com” You will find a tab at the top of the home page that says “become a sponsor.” When you select/enter the amount you wish to give, please “write us a comment” for example “year-end giving.”
This year (Dec 18-19) we present the 4th annual Maui Jim Maui Classic women’s basketball tournament! The captain of one of the participating teams this year from San Jose State, Fiemea Hafoka, participated in our first 5 basketballMAUI camps! Now she is getting a college education and competing at the highest level in division 1 women’s college basketball. She is the first person from Maui to play an official Division 1 women’s game back on the Island, as she leads as team captain for the second season!
Along with her teammates, Fiemea visited Kihei Elementary where she graduated from, to read with kids and serve the next generation. We couldn’t be more proud of this young lady as she seeks to inspire those who will follow in her footsteps.
Another inspiration is young man Naighel Calderon from Lanai. At a basketballMAUI clinic 5 years ago, Naighel was motivated by one of our coaches, professional dunker Kenny Dobbs and the two made a real connection. They kept in touch over the years and Naighel was moved to do something great with his life despite some hardships.
This year Naighel became Maui athlete of the year and has earned a scholarship to continue his education and athletic career playing baseball at the University of Hawaii as a Freshman in 2020.
It’s stories like this that motivate us to move forward and increase our impact. We need you to help us expand and make 2020 the best year yet! To expand the work and introduce two other sports, our board of directors have specified a need of $35,000 and have received a $10,000 matching gift to help us reach our goal.
Can you join us in our mission to inspire and equip youth through sports? Please click the tab below to Donate!
Sincerely,
Josh Duinker
Vertical Sports Maui