Hoopfest raises $100K for Catholic schools scholarships

The Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children’s (SFIC) Hoopfest raised over $100,000 to fund partial tuition assistance scholarships for underprivileged students attending Archdiocese of Newark schools.

The 19th Annual High School Hoopfest was held in the Roselle Catholic High School gym on Saturday, Jan. 7, with over 750 spectators cheering on the teams from Roselle Catholic, Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child, St. Peter’s Prep, Union Catholic, Hudson Catholic, Seton Hall Prep, and Immaculate Conception.

“The Basketball event highlights some of the top High School players in our region and helps fund scholarships for deserving students,” SFIC board member Kevin Cummings said.

Following the basketball games, SFIC recognized the academic achievements of a few student-athletes. Eight players were presented with The Highest Academic Achievement award acknowledging their accomplishments both on and off the court. SFIC board members Kevin Cummings, Michael Rolek, Kathleen Finnegan, and Caridad Rigo presented the student-athletes with special plaques.

Those students were:

Game 1 Award

(Girls Team) Oak Knoll #10 Bridget Sheehan

(Girls team) Roselle Catholic #14 Alexis Artiga

Game 2

(Boys Team) Hudson Catholic #5 Omari Moore

(Boys Team) Seton Hall Prep #24 Liam Toohey

Game 3 Award

(Boys Team) Union Catholic #24 Raheem Williams

(Boys Team) St. Peters Prep #22 Lorenzo Enright

Game 4- Award

(Boys Team) Roselle Catholic #3 Christian Pierre Louis

(Boys Team) Immaculate Conception in Montclair #22 Bryan Mitchell

This year, Investors Bank, a division of Citizens Bancorp., sponsored the event.

Launched in 2004, High School Hoopfest has become a beloved tradition for SFIC, with many future NBA stars like Kyle Anderson and Karl-Anthony Towns participating through the years. All proceeds from the event’s ticket sales support SFIC’s scholarships, which benefit children at or below the poverty level without regard to ethnicity, gender, race, or religion so they can attend private or parochial schools within the Archdiocese of Newark.

To learn more about SFIC and its scholarships, visit the SFIC website.