Since its inception in 1998, Duffy’s Hope Inc. has aimed to keep at-risk city youth off street corners with year-round mentoring and summer basketball leagues for boys and girls.
Programs like that cost money.
To that end, the Wilmington nonprofit, incorporated in 2002, is scheduled to hold its eighth annual celebrity softball game Saturday, Aug. 7 at Frawley Stadium.
The softball game is the organization’s major fundraiser, founder and Executive Director Allen “Duffy” Samuels said. Last year’s game raised $42,000.
And even if you don’t recognize all of the names of the celebrities participating in the softball game, they are all stars in the eyes of Samuels, a 1992 grad of Glasgow High School, where he was an standout basketball player.
“We always try to get input from our kids on who they like or who they want to see,” Samuels said. “Then we reach out to celebrities. Or they’re artists who are just coming out and we give them an opportunity to get exposure while helping us out.
“We take a chance because some people might not know them,” he said. “But, once they get here, they’re the biggest celebrity in the world.”
The celebrities include R&B artist Jeremih, whose self-titled album with Def Jam Recordings debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 in 2009; R&B artist John Brown, the Universal Records singer who will perform “Imma Love You Right;” R&B artists Letoya Luckett, formerly of Destiny’s Child; D.J. Webstar, whose song "Chicken Noodle Soup" became an Internet hit in 2006; and Angela and Vanessa Simmons, Pastry Kicks shoe brand owners and the daughters of Run DMC’s DJ Run (Joseph L. Simmons).
Entertainment mogul FREE and comedian Alex Thomas will serve as the evening’s hosts, and the emerging D.J. Breezy will provide music.
The celebrities will play against a team of local politicians and sponsors, including former Lt. Gov. John Carney, Wilmington City Councilmen Michael A. Brown Sr. and Ernest “Trippi” Congo II, Wilmington Chief of Police Mike Szczerba and Christiana Care’s Dr. Allen Friedman.
Samuels, 37, hails from the Eastside of Wilmington. Samuels soared above the inner-city environment by playing basketball for the Glasgow Dragons, allowing him to “not be a statistic.”
He earned an associates degree in early childhood education from Hagerstown Junior College in Maryland and received a Division I basketball scholarship at Old Dominion University. There, he earned a bachelor of science in human services and counseling and went on to become a professional basketball player in Europe.
