Moravian Basketball Teams Participate in Fountain Hill Elementary's Martin Luther King, Jr. Event Virtually

Moravian basketball teams on computer screens with students at fountain hill elementary school.

Posted: Jan 22, 2021

BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College men's and women's basketball squads took time on Thursday, January 21 and Friday, January 22 to participate in the Fountain Hill Elementary School's Martin Luther King, Jr. Ceremony virtually with the Cops 'n' Kids Literacy Program.

Volunteers from PPL and Moravian once again made their annual visit to Fountain Hill Elementary School in Bethlehem to "do what is right" in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This year's visit, however, had a new slant because of COVID-19. On Thursday and Friday, the volunteers from PPL and the Greyhounds "adopted" the individual classrooms at Fountain Hill in virtual classroom situations. All 27 classrooms at Fountain Hill were visited electronically via Zoom by these enthusiastic volunteers to celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.—and to reflect on the importance of his message to us all.

The volunteers read and discussed the inspirational book Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by author Doreen Rappaport and illustrator Bryan Collier. They encouraged a discussion of the impact that kindness and working together can have in our lives—again, in honor of this American hero. With the aid of a themed booklet that has been prepared specifically for this occasion, the volunteers guided the students through a thought-provoking series of activities.

"Being able to read and discuss the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with young boys and girls was powerful and very informative," noted senior guard Keith Otto of the men's squad. "His dream paved the way for young men and women to be leaders, and to believe and back one another. While we could not sit in the classroom with students this year, being able to help them in some way is always special."

"Being able to put a smile on all those kids' faces during a pandemic was extremely rewarding to see," stated senior guard Sarah Donati from the women's team.

"I was happy to be able to read to the kids about MLK," said men's senior guard Matt O'Connor. "It is important for children to value the importance of Martin Luther King Jr. and talk about all he has done for our society.

"Having the privilege to read to the Fountain Hill students is an awesome experience," commented junior guard Alix Buskirk of the women's squad. "It means a lot to the kids, as well as me and my teammates. Since things have been so chaotic in our country, I think it's very special that we were able to remind the kids of the power of kindness and the change that strong leaders (such as MLK Jr.) are able to bring."

Over the years, Moravian has made community service as major part of basketball their programs especially during the semester break when the teams just have practice, shoot arounds and games that leave free time to fill. Moravian's entire Department of Athletics led by Director of Athletics and Head Women's Basketball Coach Mary Beth Spirk has made giving back to the community a big role for student-athletes with after school programs with the Boys and Girls Club of Bethlehem and Marvine Elementary School in addition to working with Cops 'n' Kids and other projects throughout the year.

Cops 'n' Kids distributes free books, over one million in the Lehigh Valley according to their website (http://www.copsnkidslv.org/) with Moravian helping through the years.

Both of Moravian's basketball teams are scheduled to begin their COVID-shortened seasons in the next two weeks with the women will begin the year at Lancaster Bible College in a non-conference game on Saturday, January 30 while the men slated to play their first game of the year on Tuesday, February 2 in a non-conference contest versus Yeshiva (N.Y.) University at 8:00 p.m. in Johnston Hall.