Valley nonprofit and Mesa Community College host celebrity basketball game
Mesa Community College and Valley nonprofit A Permanent Voice will join forces to put students up against celebrity guests for an exhibition basketball game on Dec. 16 to generate mental health awareness for young athletes.
The event is hosted in the T.J. Heap Gymnasium from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. and will feature guest speakers and celebrity appearances from the world of sports, entertainment, and influencers.
The free event will also feature a DJ and food provided by food truck Thermy Therm’s Cafe.
The idea for the celebrity basketball game came from A Permanent Voice founder and executive director Dana Burns, who hosted the first event at South Mountain Community College on Aug. 5 after approaching valley community colleges to help her mission of raising mental health awareness for student athletes.
An attendee throws a basketball from near the free throw line at the celebrity basketball game created by A Permanent Voice and hosted at South Mountain Community College on August 5, 2023 (Photo courtesy of the South Mountain Community College Facebook page and Dana Burns)
The first event’s celebrity guests included NBA All-Stars Baron Davis and Cedric Ceballos, actors Jackie Long and Kieth Powers along with members of the FBI.
The upcoming MCC celebrity basketball game did not yet have their celebrity guest(s) announced, but the event would include guest speaker Vernon Brundage Jr., who wrote the basketball themed book “Shoot Your Shot.”
Burns created the south Phoenix based charity after her personal experience to gain custody of her daughter while she herself “didn’t have a voice.”
A Permanent Voice primarily supports seniors who are raising grandchildren, but the organization has expanded to help more members of the community, such as young athletes, by the creation of events like the celebrity basketball game.
Burns told the Mesa Legend the experiences of several young athletes she knew had to go through when an out-of-state scholarship created undue stress for the student.
The celebrity basketball game will also act as a way for student athletes to explore in-state college opportunities.
“We want our kids to know there is help, it’s ok to get help!” said Burns.
The basketball game showed students that the success they may want to achieve in life, much like the status of the celebrities, is very much attainable for a young person navigating their future.
“Basketball is very universal, we don’t even see white or black when we’re playing,” said Burns, who believed the game could help bridge the gap between members of the community.
Burns worked closely with MCC athletics director John Mulhern to organize the event in a unique collaboration with A Permanent Voice.
“This is a great opportunity to create positive events at the college,” said Mulhern, who worked with MCC athletics to host the event and also stream the game on the athletics department’s website.
