Upward Basketball partnered with the Bibb County Parks & Recreation Department and Campus Clubs of Macon to bring the opportunity for over 900 inner city children in Macon to play Upward Basketball and participate in Upward Cheerleading this season. It was the first time Upward has ever partnered with a city.

Tony Lowden, executive director of Campus Clubs in Macon, had the vision of bringing the Upward Basketball program to the in-town children of Macon. He was concerned about the violence among the youth in Macon and wanted to offer a sports program with the emphasis on character and integrity. He and Rev. Evan Brown, pastor of True Faith Church of God in Christ in Macon, drove up to Spartanburg, South Carolina last October to meet with Upward representatives about the possibility of partnering with Macon. They brought the Upward vision back to Macon's Mayor Robert Reichert and area churches.

Their greatest need? Gyms. Mayor Reichert provided 8 parks and recreation facilities. Two churches with gymnasiums also came on board. With extra help from Upward, the Parks and Recreation staff and Campus clubs volunteers, registration was held across the city. By the end of registration, 949 children had signed up. From there, Lowden recruited eight churches to adopt the parks and recreation facilities and provide volunteers to open the games with prayer, keep the score clocks, and clean up. Over 80 volunteers worked hard to provide the children with a quality Upward program.

"Every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. , we've been trying to save the kids in this community," Lowden said.

Caz McCaslin, founder of Upward, attended the recent Macon awards celebration for the culmination of the Upward season at Mercer University's Center. McCaslin said, "We were hoping to get maybe 100 or 200 kids, but you guys really blew us out of the water. We were grateful to partner with you to reach every child."

Mike Anthony, director of parks and recreation of Bibb County, told the attendees, "This is a great day for Macon and Upward. Upward has been the greatest program for our community. We're looking forward to next year."

Mayor Reichert's wife, Dele, has been raising money to buy "living" basketballs for each child who played Upward sports in Macon this season. The basketballs are imprinted with Bible verses so that the children can take home the promise of Christ with them. The basketballs will be given to the children during a special ceremony on April 26 at 4 p.m. at Vineville United Methodist Church.

For more information about the Upward Basketball season in Macon, call Tony Lowden at 478-742-7794. For more information on Campus Clubs, visit www.campusclubsUS.org.