Play It Forward reunites South Kansas City-inspired brands and startup leaders.
By: Paul Cannon, reporting for Startland News
“We wanted to involve many entities that are directly working with our community,” said Abdul Rasheed Yahaya, founder of Local Legends Gaming and one of the two entrepreneur organizers of the annual Play It Forward charity basketball event. “From our DJs to our hosts to our vendors. People are working hard in our community.”
“We don’t charge any of our vendors to be vendors,” he added. “Entrepreneurship is hard enough as it is. If we allow them to grow, they will also improve the community.”
Now in its second year, the game benefits the Hickman Mills (HMC 1) School District’s school supplies fund and pits Yahaya, a Ruskin High School alum, against Hickman veteran Mark Launiu, co-founder of MADE MOBB and the other organizer of the event.
“We have a passion to give back to the city through athletics,” said Yahaya.
“This is our stomping grounds,” Launiu added.
Supplying support
Both organizers are co-founders of The Distrikc, an initiative led by black entrepreneurs to effect real change within their communities. Play It Forward preceded that effort but echoed its goals.
“If we can use our experiences to alleviate [longstanding South Kansas City challenges], that would go a long way in helping others,” said Yahaya.
The organizers said working with the financially strapped but “incredibly cooperative” Hickman Mills district has been vital. Yahaya noted that admission and T-shirt sales at the event and general donations are tallied and used to provide classroom or related school items to students who lack them.
“So when the young ones don’t have supplies, they can go to the office and say, ‘I don’t have this.’ Then they can be supplied with things like backpacks,” he said.
Room for a larger team
With a hip-hop DJ performing throughout the game, Play It Forward featured several surprises that made the event far from a gimmick, its organizers said. Former college players, startup leaders like Healthy Hip Hop’s Roy Scott, and even celebrity WNBA player and national champion Tyra White joined the action.
Launiu’s MADE MOBB squad — which boasted White — ultimately defeated Yahaya’s Local Legends Gaming team 62–50.
“They had better players, but we had better coaching,” Launiu joked.
The duo hopes to continue the charity basketball tradition into 2020 and beyond — perhaps with a few changes, they said.
“Professional refs?” Yahaya said, ribbing Launiu after the game. “There is always room for improvement. We want to tie in more nonprofits. Some that are really into the community.”
While the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Mid-Continent Public Library were among the vendors at the event, Yahaya and Launiu see an opportunity to grow the event — and its impact — with support from other entrepreneurs and support organizations, they said.
This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. This private, nonpartisan foundation works with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create unique solutions and empower people to shape their futures and succeed.
For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn
