Local Hoops: ‘One City, One Team, One Family’

Hoops for Kids, has been a great success here in Netanya, both for the children it affects, and the entire team.

By DAVID ROUMANI
Kids in picture (370) (photo credit: (Netanya Foundation/courtesy)
Kids in picture (370)
(photo credit: (Netanya Foundation/courtesy)
About 100 locals showed up at the Children’s ‘Club’ in Netanya Thursday afternoon.
The club, or “Moadonit” in Hebrew, aims to provide after school programs for children that come from underprivileged homes.
The Moadonit has been around for a year already, however was just renovated.
Keren, one of the parents who’s kids are fortunate to attend this after school program said, “I could not put into words how much this beautiful renovation means to the children who spend their afternoons here. It gives these children a place to play, learn and grow, when they may not have the opportunity otherwise.”
The GM of Elitzur Barak Netanya, Tzvika Leiber, has been instrumental in working to bring his team all the way from Israeli’s fourth division to a competitive team in the BSL, the country’s top tier.
Only a few years ago, in the team’s first year in the first division, Barak Netanya reached the championship.
Since then, Netanya has been looking to improve their organization, both on and off the court.
David Colburn, the visionary of the non-profit organization (or “Amuta”) has worked with the city municipality and the Netanya Foundation for a couple years now.
Colburn has contributed in many ways, with the vision of trying to help the team, city, and the organization ‘Hoops for Kids’ grow, and affect as many people as possible.
The Jerusalem Post caught up with Eliran Guetta, the captain of the team, who just finished his ninth year on the squad.
“Hoops for Kids, has been a great success here in Netanya, both for the children it affects, and the entire team. After going out to schools, and orphanages in the city, you really feel that you are making a great contribution to not only the children, but to the entire community.”
When asked what direction he thinks his team is going, Guetta said, “I’m not the one who makes the decisions, but ever since I joined the team nine years ago, we have always been improving, and while this past year it may not have been reflected in our record, as part of the organization you can tell this team is always looking for ways to improve.”
The mayor of Netanya, Miriam Fireberg, was also present at the ceremony, and briefly addressed the crowd.
“One of the things that every child wants today, is a connection with sports players and teams. Thanks to people like David Colburn, these kids are given the opportunity of a lifetime, to participate in practices with professional athletes.”
Leiber concluded the evening with the following remarks: “We look forward to helping the city of Netanya grow to its full potential, and we love to see the impact these Moadoniyot have on the children.”
Other organizations should definitely look at what Barak Netanya and their partners have done to help others in the community. These contributions are not usually seen in other parts of the country, especially coming from a basketball organization.