16th annual Big Buddy Shoot Out February 22nd Shoot Out: 1pm Sea Dawgs game: 5pm CFCC Schwartz Center, Downtown $8 ticket for both games
392-8180 T here are few events more exhilarating to watch than the adrenaline-laced charge of a fast-break get-a-way on the basketball court. The crowd goes wild, time freezes into a still frame, and all eyes watch in suspense to see how the action will unfold at the opposite end of the court. Add to that the excitement of an old Wild-West shoot-’em-up, and throw in the abundance of compassion necessary to help others in need, and the result is the annual Big Buddy Shoot-Out, back for a 16th consecutive year. In the annual local “Shoot Out,” the Wilmington police department goes head to head with the New Hanover County sheriff’s department in a charity basketball tournament, battling it out on the court to benefit one hard-working cause: the Big Buddy Program. This year the Shoot Out is partnering with Wilmington’s premier basketball league team, the Sea Dawgs, to bring the public two exciting games out of one ticket sell. “It’s a chance for the public to contribute to a great cause here in town, and it gives them the opportunity to not only support the local police department but also watch a pro basketball team play,” Billy Whittington, general manager of the Wilmington Seadawgs, says. “I’m most looking forward to watching the two law enforcement teams face off. I’m excited to see the level of talent they put on the court.” “[The Shoot Out] is a long tradition and the key way we fund [our] case manager’s position,” Annie Anthony, executive director for the Cape Fear Volunteer, adds. After taking the Big Buddy Program under the Center’s wing just last year, she has wisely partnered with the Sea Dawgs to make one of the year’s major fund-raising events even more successful. “Big Buddy certainly is positioning itself for growth, and anything we can do to get those kids mentors, I am all for it.” The Big Buddy program recruits, trains, screens and manages new volunteers to work with little buddies, as well as executes programming for those little buddies enrolled in the program. Little buddies are children who come from single-family homes and are in need of a mentor in their lives, someone to show them new opportunities and be a positive role model for them so that they will thrive and prosper. Big buddies are these volunteer mentors who are matched up individually with a little buddy, committing to a specified amount of time per week, in which to provide their quality time and love.
“All of the money raised [at the Shoot Out] is used for program funding.This is very important to me,” the sherriff’s department’s Officer Sean Jones, who has been involved in the Shoot Out since its inaugural tournament, said. “The youth in the Big Buddy Program are our future teachers, lawyers, doctors, and congressmen and women, to name only a few careers they can pursue. We must preserve our future by providing positive role models for our youth who display the type of character they will need to possess, which will help them lead our community and country in the future.”