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Dec 23, 2006

"Suffering and joy teach us, if we allow them, how to make the leap of empathy, which transports us into the soul and heart of another person. ln those transparent moments we know other people's joys and sorrows, and we care about their concerns as if they were our own." --Fritz Williams

A 9-Year Old's Vision: Hoops of Hope

When Austin Gutwein was 9 years old, he tried out for his school's basketball team, and didn't make it. But he did rebound in an unlikely and inspiring way. Austin's disappointment dissolved when he learned about the millions of children in Africa orphaned by AIDS. "I really started to think about what it would be like if I lost my parents," he says. Austin decided to raise money for these children by shooting free throws on World AIDS Day. Through his first effort, he shot 2,057 free throws to represent the 2,057 kids who would be orphaned during his day at school. Austin raised $3000 that year and initiated a movement in schools across seven different states. Today, his nonprofit, Hoops of Hope continues to raise thousands of dollars each year, and Austin, now twelve, has plans of building a school in Zambia.