Harlem Wizards raise money for schools in Baldwin Park

For Orlando resident LaMarvon Jackson, it’s show time every time his sneakers hit the court. He starts with a basic dribble, then jazzes it up as the ball goes back and forth under his legs in every which direction. He spins the ball perfectly perched on his extended index finger in front of his face, but before you know it the spinning sphere is still on his finger but it’s behind his back, or through his legs. Look again, and the ball is rolling easily from one outstretched hand, up his arm, over his shoulders and down into the other hand.

For him and the thousands of kids he entertains as a member of the Harlem Wizards, it’s a magic show crafted with basketballs and hoops instead of top hats and wands.

“My favorite part is seeing the smiles on all the kids’ and the adults’ faces,” Jackson said.

Jackson and the rest of the Wizards are coming to Baldwin Park on May 16, facing off in the Glenridge Middle School gym against a team of the school’s faculty. Funds raised from the game will go toward the purchase of 60 smart, interactive white boards for the school’s classrooms. Julie Champion, who serves on the fundraising committee for Glenridge, said the game will be a night of family fun for a good cause.

The Wizards debuted in the Baldwin Park community last year, with a game at Winter Park High School. Champion said that game was a slam dunk, both for fund – and fun – raising. This year, she said Glenridge’s goal is to raise $100,000 for the purchase of the interactive white boards, and to fund the $20,000 needed to continue the school’s IB program.

Staff from Glenridge Middle School will square off against the Harlem Wizards in the school’s gym on Saturday, May 16, at 7 p.m. Tickets are anticipated to sell out, so scoop them up now at harlemwizards.com/schedules

“Of all the fundraisers that we’ve done in the past, this is the one that really culminated in a fun, family event,” said Glenridge Principal Trevor Honohan, who will be out there on the court against the Wizards on May 16. “… And it’s neat to be out there and part of the show.”

It’ll be a short trip to Baldwin Park for Jackson, who recently relocated to Orlando. But it’ll be even shorter for Baldwin Parker Rick Schreiber, vice president of sales and operations for the Wizards, who runs the team’s Florida headquarters from an office on Lake Baldwin Lane.

Schreiber grew up with the Harlem Wizards as the family business, his grandfather founding the basketball team back in 1962. The Harlem Wizards, much like the Harlem Globetrotters, are an entertainment basketball team, Schreiber said, but their difference being functioning first and foremost as an agent of philanthropy.

The Wizards host charity basketball games at venues and schools across the country and globe, with proceeds from ticket sales and merchandise going back to the organization hosting the event. And, instead of playing against themselves, they place against a local team of volunteers, from teachers to politicians.

Schreiber said bringing the family business to Baldwin Park for a game is a great opportunity on a personal and professional level. His friends and neighbors get to see what his work is all about, and he gets to raise money for the school his children will eventually attend.

“Last year’s event was amazing and surreal,” he said. “To see it in Baldwin Park was great… and it was great to have my kids there in their Wizards gear enjoying the game, and my friends there, who wouldn’t usually get an opportunity to see the Wizards, there too.”

For LaMarvon “Showtime” Jackson, every Wizard game is a surreal dream-come-true. Getting to play his favorite sport around the country and make a positive impact on kids through sports? It’s a good gig, he said.

“Basketball is something that I love that I would do for free,” he said, “but for it to be my job, that’s definitely an added bonus.”