5th Annual Hoops for Hope A Success

(JEFFERSON R7) The 5th Annual Hoops for Hope Classic at Jefferson High School was a resounding success Friday night with the Herculaneum JV and varsity girls teams and the Jefferson JV and varsity boys teams earning wins.

There were over 25 items raffled, a drawing for a Matt Carpenter and Vladimir Tarasenko signed and framed jersey, surprise gifts from the Hoops for Hope committee and all of Blue Jay Nation to R-7 Superintendent Clint Johnston, and 4,500 dollar checks presented to the Long and Harris families, members of the Jefferson community who are dealing with cancer, to assist them financially.

The people responsible for getting the ball rolling on the Hoops for Hope Classic five years ago are Bill and Andrea Hammock. Bill is a janitor with the Herculaneum School District and before the girls’ varsity game on Friday, he spoke about why they started Hoops for Hope.

 
He continued on to thank Herky girls basketball coach Riley Blair and former Herky Athletic Director Robert Bradshaw for surrendering their home games back in 2015 in order to have R-7 host the event. Bill then explained how exactly money has been raised over the years to provide for families.

 
Bill also expressed great appreciation to the sponsors.

 
Andrea Hammock, who is the Jefferson R-7 Athletic Department secretary, says that they wanted to also do something special just for the kids.

 
Those gifts this year included two laptops, two Visa gift cards valued at $200, a Nintendo Switch with a Lego Worlds game, and a drumset. In the first five years of Hoops for Hope, nearly $45,000 has been used to bless ten families.

Bill and Andrea Hammock