Hero of the Week! (5.19.20)

It's time for the SSNC... HERO OF THE WEEK Every Friday, we at the SSNC like to highlight some of the amazing things happening in our community of success.

This is Tony Williams, Supervisor of Security and Director of Basketball here at the SSNC. Tony is one of those people we really could highlight each and every week. We wanted to share a bit about him and his program as it restarted recently.

A lot of you probably know or have met Tony; he's sort of a legend around here. He actually grew up right across the street from the SSNC, and attended our programing such as the day care and youth services.

Tony went from having mentors here to being one. He's such a key person at the SSNC including being a critical piece of the Sam Waisbren Memorial Basketball Program. This program is incredible. Before any basketball is played, every Wednesday and Friday, each of the teammates will take part in a literacy program. Here's a brief video that really helps visualize it.

This program uniquely leverages the love of basketball as an entry point to meaningfully support children (and their parents) from under-served communities, beginning with access to literacy specialists.

Tony comes up with incredible ideas to combine basketball with literacy. You may have seen this on the news, but during Black History Month Tony held a 3 on 3 tournament where the entry fee was an essay!

We want to salute Tony for the countless contributions he brings to our Community of Success. Besides bringing a smile to all of our faces on a daily basis, he is a mentor to our youth, a wonderful father, and a critical piece in keeping the SSNC running. That's why he is our... HERO OF THE WEEK!