American Beverage Association Sponsors IMPACT Celebrity Basketball Game with Local Leaders and Youth

On Saturday, May 5th, youth from IMPACT's Long Branch Athletic Association and Maryland GreenHawks players Super Fly, Hi-Rise, and Pat-The-Rock defeated a team of community leaders in the annual Long Branch Celebrity Basketball Game. This year's celebrity game, part of the Department of Recreation's Unity Festival, brought together members from every corner of the community. Celebrity team participants included Honest Tea founder Seth Goldman, Montgomery County Councilmember Marc Elrich, Gabe Alobornoz and Ronald Martin of the Department of Recreation, and Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy, among others.

The game was sponsored by Honest Tea and its partners at the American Beverage Association; the local nonalcoholic beverage companies announced a $25,000 partnership grant to support IMPACT's youth sports and health programming at the Long Branch Community Center.

The GreenHawks put on a dribbling and dunking exhibition before (and during!!) the game. The victorious youth team was coached by LBAA coaches T.C. Williams and Mike Womack. The crowd enjoyed a halftime dance show performed by the Park Montgomery All-Stars. And before the basketball game students from Einstein, Blair, Northwood, and Springbrook High Schools competed in a futsol tournament run by the Department of Rec's Sports Academies program.

IMPACT's Long Branch Athletic Association is buzzing as spring winds down and summer revs up. Youth soccer teams, led by parent coaches and coordinators, are finishing up their spring seasons in the Takoma Soccer league and will begin summer practices when school lets out. And high-school-age basketball participants will be engaged in a summer jobs cohort, connecting with their neighbors to create opportunities to develop skills and generate income.

To view more great pictures of the Celebrity Basketball game, click here.