From the Basketball Court to the Community
On Thursday, October 24th, 2024 Dwyane Wade, Bam Adebayo, and our longtime board member Nancy Hector together remodeled the basketball court at the Chapman Partnership Downtown Miami Center.
The court unveiling and resource fair involved a petting zoo by the Brady Hunter Foundation, sweet treats, a diaper give-away by Miami Diaper Bank, a pediatric dental unit by Colgate and much more.
Twenty years ago, Dwyane Wade and the Wades World Foundation gifted us the original basketball court. Now, two decades later Dwayne returns to pass on the torch to Bam Adebayo and his foundation Bam, Books, and Brotherhood.
The court design choice was made into an intricate contest called “In Your Court” and a beautiful torch passing design was picked. The artist and winner, Ephraim James, mentions that
“The overall experience for me was and still is surreal to this day. It started off by entering a design contest through the collaboration of the Bam Books Brotherhood Foundation and Wade’s World Foundation via Instagram.
It was a design contest to symbolize the passing of the torch between Dwyane Wade and Bam Adebayo, while honoring both of their legacies. The design that I submitted not only illustrates the passing of the torch from one Miami Heat basketball legend to another, but from one generation to another.
With a simple and unique composition, I illustrated this concept through the use of emojis, with the lightning bolt emoji representing Wade (nicknamed Flash) and the explosion emoji representing Adebayo. The fire emoji in the middle of the court represents the Heat franchise that are associated with both of these players. The angled projection of the road towards the bottom of the court symbolizes Bam’s path toward the legendary success that D-Wade has achieved.
Chapman Partnership was given permission by Ephraim James to use these images.
Ephraim James (@e.james_361) • Instagram photos and videos
The coolest part throughout this process was getting the public involved in helping to choose my design as one of four finalists and then hearing that Wade and Adebayo themselves chose the winning design. To add cherry on top of that, being a part of the ribbon cutting ceremony with the basketball legends was a legendary moment I was blessed and privileged to be a part of.
Chapman Partnership was given permission by Ephraim James to use these images.
Ephraim James (@e.james_361) • Instagram photos and videos
Overall, I feel grateful to have created something lasting and meaningful to the shelter, hoping to inspire and engage the shelter’s residents, giving them a space for athletic growth and community building. I also hope this moment serves as a stepping stone for a tremendous number of creative projects I’d love to be a part of, combining sports, art, and architecture. As an artist, designer, and future architect, the BBB Court was truly a legendary and impactful moment that I’ll treasure forever.”
Chapman Partnership was given permission by Ephraim James to use these images.
Ephraim James (@e.james_361) • Instagram photos and videos
Here at Chapman Partnership, we make it a focus point to honor our partners. We thank EJ for his statement and hope this will be a wonderful start for him to be a part of many more projects such as this one.
About a year ago, Bam Adebayo and the Bam, Books, and Brotherhood Foundation had also revamped the basketball court and fitness center at Chapman Partnership’s Homestead Center. This marks an exceptional partnership in our community and shines light on Bam’s dedication to the city on and off the court.
Alongside the former Miami Heat teammates was Nancy Hector, an esteemed board member. Nancy was a great contributor to the court unveiling project and even had a dedication bench placed at the front of the court honoring Hattie Mae Jackson, her beloved nanny.
Of the many VIPs, Board Members, and Political officials that were in attendance – The real guests of honor were our residents. From being served dinner by Bam Adebayo and Mayor Francis Suarez to receiving access to various donations of care and compassion.
A special thank you to each and every person that made this event happen. From Chapman Partnership’s staff leaders like Candice Myles, Community Relations Manager, to Victoria Shahbaz, Founder & President at OnDecker the Joy Dealer Foundation.
Partnership is in our name. Through the amazing efforts of all individuals, we are able to make long lasting change and lead our residents towards a life of self-sufficiency.
Below you can find pictures of the court being put to good use by our clients. We had the first of many internal basketball tournaments hosted by our Client Care Super Star, Jersson Castro, who dedicates his time to ensuring our clients have all of their basic living needs along with caring deeply enough to bring different initiatives to keep our clients, especially our male population, active and joyful!
Pictures by Elizabeth Ortega, Executive Assistant, Operations
Pictures by Elizabeth Ortega, Executive Assistant, Operations
Chapman Basketball Tournament Winners!
Pictures by Elizabeth Ortega, Executive Assistant, Operations
Want to get involved? Please contact our Community Relations Department – Candice Myles, Community Relations Manager – cmyles@chapmanpartnership.org Laura Payne, Community Outreach Specialist – lpayne@chapmanpartnership.org
Blog Writer:
Najely Deleon –
ndeleon@chapmanpartnership.org
www.linkedin.com/in/najely–deleon–5620a72b4
