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| CIU Rams learn to “coach” youth on basketball and life |
By Bob Holmes
Columbia International University Assistant Athletics Director Kim Abbott says this was the plan for CIU athletics from Day 1.
As Abbott stood on the steps overlooking the CIU basketball court where groups of nearly 200 Columbia-area youth were shooting hoops at CIU’s Hoop for Hope camp, she reminisced on the day she was hired. In 2010 she was tapped to organize CIU’s first-ever intercollegiate athletics program, with the intention that athletics would be a platform for sharing the gospel.
“This is really our ministry — bringing kids to CIU for camp,” Abbott said. “This is a major purpose as to why we started athletics.”
The Hoop for Hope camp is an initiative by the CIU men’s and women’s basketball programs to engage with the youth in Columbia. The name of the camp comes from Jeremiah 29:11 "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'Plans to give you HOPE and a future..'" with the purpose of sharing the hope that comes with having a relationship with Jesus.
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