Euroleague Basketball, Dogus Group launch social responsibility collaboration
Istanbul provided the beautiful backdrop on Friday for a new initiative that has Euroleague Basketball and Dogus Group joining forces at an international level to use the power of basketball to improve lives.
The two partners are building on an already-strong relationship by bringing together their respective corporate social responsibility programmes, One Team and Stay in the Game, for the benefit of at-risk youths across the continent.
Their new "One Team-Stay In The Game Educational Programme" was launched on Friday at Darussafaka Ayhan Sahenk Sports Hall in Istanbul and will now branch out to five public schools in the city to instruct hundreds of children aged 9 to 14 in life skills. The initiative will last from April through June.
Friday was set aside to bring the tailor-made lessons being used in the programme to the physical education teachers who will go back to their schools and work with the children with the support of One Team and Stay in the Game professionals.
Among the special guests on hand to help launch the initiative was former Euroleague winner Ibrahim Kutluay, the Euroleague Basketball Ambassador in Turkey, along with officials from Euroleague Basketball, Dogus Group and four Euroleague Basketball clubs in Turkey. Program host Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul was joined by Fenerbahce Istanbul, Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Pinar Karsikaya Izmir in demonstrating a readiness to support the project with the expertise they acquired by developing the One Team programs within their respective clubs.
"It is an honor for me to be able to give my support to this social project coming from the association of Darussafaka Dogus’s social programme, Stay In The Game, and Euroleague Basketball's One Team," said Kutluay, who is also an executive board member for Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul. "We feel we can do great things by bringing the One Team life skills training into these Turkish schools to support the work of teachers there with these kids."
Euroleague's social partner, Think Beyond, delivered Friday's one-day One Team clinic the physical education teachers.
Stay in the Game, the Dogus Group social responsibility programme launched in 2014, places an emphasis on pursuing goals and staying away from negative influences, harmful habits and antisocial behavior by encouraging teens to play basketball or to take an interest in other sports.
"We have begun renovating and refurbishing a number of courts in order to pave the way for 'play' and lead children to use their spare time in a beneficial way," Selin Kocak, Head of CSR, Dogus Group, said. "Our journey started in Derbent, a neighborhood located in Istanbul, and has continued to evolve in other Turkish cities and neighborhoods. So far, 21 cities have been visited, 42 courts have been renovated and Stay In The Game has reached 25,000 children throughout the country."
The One Team programme, since its founding in 2012, has directly reached 5,000 participants and can account for 5,000 more indirectly through its various team projects. One Team runs a total of 34 programmes, including all those run by Turkish Airlines Euroleague and Eurocup clubs, plus those that Euroleague Basketball coordinates directly.
"One Team provides a unique and valuable channel for our fans, clubs, communities and partners to build a programme that not only changes lives but also harnesses the enormous power of basketball beyond the court, delivering integrity and life changing results," Abigail Martin, Head of CSR & Project Development, Euroleague Basketball, said. "Our association with the Stay In the Game programme aims to build more opportunities for the young generations at risk to learn the like skills that One Team provides and to find their role in society through the sport of basketball."