The Big Bang Ballers focus all their projects around a central team in every country in which we work.  We don’t believe in parachute development; our teams are comprised of locals as well as foreign volunteers, with the bulk of projects and programs being run by local youth themselves.

We provide young people with the tools and environment they need to inspire positive, proactive change.  We aim to provide an outlet for those children least able to be children, be it in a slum, in a neighbourhood, on an inner-city street.  We seek to remove the inevitable divides between classes and social groups, and instead teach the importance and value of teamwork, as well as the incredible and often surprising benefits that sports has as a unifying and motivating element in an otherwise divided and unmotivated world.

We share our love and respect for the game and its teachings with all the kids we serve; we teach responsibility, loyalty, hard work and dedication, trust in each other and above all, respect towards others and pride in oneself.

We furthermore use the game to motivate young people to further their education, look after their health, support their own communities and become masters of their own fates.

Our primary program, the Big Bangs Team, includes the following modules:

• Teamwork
• Setting and Achieving Goals
• Self-Reliance & Team Building
• Communication
• Orphanage Support Program
• School Support Program
• Stay In School Program

Other programs currently are:

Our school community building program is the foundation of our programs in new target countries.  It allows us firstly to develop the sense of community and belonging necessary in order to lay the foundations for further community-minded activities and programs, often initiated by the students themselves.

How the program works
For a period of 4 days, students are run through team-building and community involvement exercises:
Day 1: 4 to 6 hours, depending on number of students
Kids are put into teams, run through drills.
Teams are continuously mixed and changed, in order to develop a sense of duty to “team” rather than individuals.
Exercises are mixed, allowing those less physically able to participate and make a positive contribution.
Big Bangs teams run simultaneous team-building side-activities inclusive of positive reinforcement in order to accentuate the natural team building process.
Day 2: 3 to 5 hours, depending on number of students.
Kids are run through conflict resolution and problem solving tasks.  This is removed from the basketball process in order to show how transportable the lessons learnt previously can be off the court.
Big Bangs staff run through problems and scenarios in order to tackle the common misconceptions and issues young people all experience.
We also deal with issues such as respect, tolerance, sense of duty and sense of self.
As with previous day’s activities, the kids are continuously mixed and matched in order to develop the sense of community.
Day 3: 4 to 6 hours, depending on number of students.
The kids are again run through the same activities as day 1, however this time they are presented with more leadership opportunities.  The lessons learned in the first 2 days are more readily retained when students take the initiative themselves to contribute towards the activities.
Day 4: 4 hours.
This is the culmination of the program, where the school students all congregate together to go over what they have learnt in the last 3 days.  As a stepping stone towards our Local Community Building Program, this day allows for students to reinforce the new skills they have learned and also to put some of it into practice with each other.

This program allows the students, who have completed the School Community Building Program, to increase their awareness of their local community and begin to make contributions towards its well-being.

How the program works
For a period of 3 days, students are encouraged and supported in identifying the needs of their local communities and finding ways to positively impact them.
Day 1:
Students identify what their local community looks like.  Is it a mixed race community, are there minorities?  What are the central issues of concern in that area?  Traditionally this is the most difficult day; students are often reluctant to see that certain negatives may have been directly caused by them; anti-social behavior, drugs and alcohol, violence.  As part of the exercise, we take our time to identify what it is that is causing those negative effects, and what could potentially be of use to make the situation better.  It is at this point that we begin to discuss the Big Bangs motto: “all it takes is a small spark to create something wonderful”.  We show the students how small steps can have giant consequences for the good.
We identify places where the students can be of help; orphanages, aged-care homes, cleaning streets, parks, community areas, calling for a truce between gangs, discouraging alcohol abuse, starting a fundraising campaign, etc.
Day 2:
Day 2 is spent creating the program that the students want to pursue; the responsibility for gathering resources and developing links to opportunities is placed on their shoulders.  If we trust our youth, they invariably surprise us with their aptitude.  Big Bangs will of course be supervising and providing support where required.
Day 3:
This is the implementation day, where the students complete the projects they discussed and planned for in days 1 and 2.

This is the culmination of the previous 2 programs.

Day 1:
Students from all 3 schools are brought together to discuss what they did and how they did it.  This serves not only as a point of comparison for the students, but also shows them the similarities between their populations and their methods of achieving their goals.
Students are then challenged on a grander scale.  What can they do, as 3 schools together, to make their local communities better in the long run.  This is often the most intense part of our programs, requiring a lot of supervision and guidance from the Big Bangs.
From these discussions, the students then develop a series of ideas for how to make their plans happen.
Day 2:
This is the planning and resources day, where the ideas of day 1 take shape.
Day 3:
This is the implementation day for the programs.
Day 4:
This day is crucial for the students to be able to evaluate their successes and/or failures, and to, perhaps most importantly, develop their plan for future such events on their own.  Now that they understand their own potential, the students will be able to take full responsibility for their own communities.
Days 5, 6 and 7
Basketball.  Schools are given a day of basketball camps each as a reward for their hard work over the course of the programs.

Tournaments and Leagues

The Big Bang Ballers run charity tournaments and Leagues in order to fundraise for their local and international activities, as well as for special programs and causes as deemed appropriate by local committees.

Tournaments are organized and run by both in-country committees and local volunteers, inclusive of local interns.  Volunteers learn and practice a variety of skills, from time and people management to problem-solving, conflict resolution and dealing with 3^rd parties.

Local businesses that would have an interest in supporting the program and promoting their business or organization are approached to support our tournaments. Depending on the country and committee, we develop different levels of sponsorship to maximize revenue while matching the sponsor with a strong promotional opportunity.

Some areas of sponsorship include:
Advertising in the tournament program/roster sheet
Sponsorship of each court or event
Advertise on the photo backdrop
Have a team photo area that has advertisers’ logos.

Photos and stories of the event will appear in media outlets.

While we do not charge admission for spectators, donations are strongly encouraged.

Depending on the tournament, we also sell food and beverages.

We work with local T-shirt printers, who we first evaluate to ensure are not sweatshops, to design tournament T-shirts to provide to participants and to sell.

Each country committee has the opportunity to sponsor 1 to 3 external teams per year.  Sponsorships should only be distributed if teams meet the following criteria:

• The team shows a genuine need for financial support
• The team, inclusive of all players, coaches and management agree to and sign Big Bang Ballers Code of Conduct
• The team commits to 20 hours volunteer work with the Big Bang Ballers in-country

Sponsorships allow the committees to both encourage and enable participation in basketball by a variety of players, as well as spreading the message of the Big Bang Ballers.  Where possible, teams should demonstrate a commitment to the values and ethics of the organization prior to sponsorship.

Individual Sponsorships

Country committees can nominate up to 5 people per financial year to be eligible for individual sponsorships from the Big Bang Ballers.  Sponsorships are often taken up in partnership with other organizations in order to complement existing corporate giving programs.  Individuals must meet the following criteria:

• The individual shows a genuine need for financial support
• The individual must agree to and sign Big Bang Ballers Code of Conduct
• The individual commits to 40 hours volunteer work with the Big Bang Ballers in-country.

Either 1 or 2 days, focus is on the technical aspects of basketball.  Aimed at medium to advanced players, with teamwork, open-ness and positive attitude taught hand in hand with basketball fundamentals, drills and plays.

Usually only 1 day in duration, Kids Camps focus on having fun and learning to trust and                depend on each other in a positive way, using basketball and the associated skills it                teaches to encourage both a healthy lifestyle and an awareness and appreciation for the        people around us.

This is an advanced camp, either 1 or 2 days.  Focus is on developing the capacity of         participants to become leaders within their own communities.  We teach:

• Developing yourself and your teams to maximize their strengths and enhance the community around you
• Develop confidence and awareness of self-worth and the value of those around you
• Motivate your team with effective performance measurement
• Integrate your leadership responsibilities, competencies and behaviors into your role
• Understand and support the complementary skills and styles of your team
• Eliminate barriers and miscommunications that block teamwork

Our build-a-court program targets communities which may benefit from the      development of a basketball court in for local kids to both participate in the sport and provide a venue for Big Bang Ballers camps and events.

Courts are provided free of charge; funding is entirely up to individual country programs.

Young adults from 16 to 21 are eligible to take up the opportunity to obtain first hand experience in the field of international development and community work through our internship program.

The duration of internships is no longer than 1 month, and the position is unpaid.

Interns assist the country programs with their work in representing and advancing our activities in the our program countries.

Successful candidates will undertake the following duties:
• Assist members of the marketing team in organising promotional and fundraising activities
• Organising and assisting with meetings including preparing minutes as required
• Preparing briefing, reports and correspondence
• Writing articles for the newsletter and website
• Assist with information management including maintenance of website, databases and contact lists
• Research international or development issues
• Undertaking administrative duties and other duties as required

Qualifications required:
• Possess background or interest in international development, community work and/or communications
• Ideal candidate will either currently be in secondary or tertiary studies or have graduated within 18 months
• Knowledge of the Big Bang Ballers
• Talented, highly motivated and committed to the goals of the Big Bang Ballers;
• Good communicators with excellent oral and written communication skills
• Strategic thinkers and practical problem-solvers
• Team players with initiative and good organisational skills
• Very flexible, adaptable and resourceful
• Enthusiasm and drive to learn

Our internships provide skills young adults can use as an avenue for employment and to develop the skills they need to become more independent.  Through the internship, they are taught confidence in putting forward a position, as well as building professionalism, workplace skills, personal accountability and developing the frame of mind to make the transition to mature life.

As with any other Big Bang Ballers program, internships provide participants with new skills, challenge their existing skills, show them how achievable seemingly complicated and difficult tasks can be.

Where possible, partnerships with local businesses should be sought so that interns can also work at a paid place of employment during the month to balance both their experiences and provide them with work references and a source of income.

This is a barrier-breaking program, to be used in communities where social interaction between girls and boys is limited.  Employing the same concepts and framework as our skills or kids camps, depending on skill level, the Cross-Court program allows the different genders to see the similarities between each other, and allows social interaction in a safe, socially secure way.

This program brings together kids of all backgrounds community centres, clubs, churches and other youth groups located in target  areas basketball games, social interaction and community relations discussions. Activities occur in a structured, fun, and inclusive environment.

We emphasise respect for one another, teach the value and potential of each individual regardless of any other socio-economic, gender, racial or other consideration.

This is a barrier-breaking program, to be used in communities where social interaction between different social groups is limited.  Employing the same concepts and framework as our skills or kids camps, depending on skill level, the Cross-Court program allows the different genders to see the similarities between each other, and allows social interaction in a safe, socially secure way.

This program brings together kids of all backgrounds community centres, clubs, churches and other youth groups located in target  areas basketball games, social interaction and community relations discussions. Activities occur in a structured, fun, and inclusive environment.

We emphasise respect for one another, teach the value and potential of each individual regardless of any other socio-economic, gender, racial or other consideration.

Young adults aged 18 through 25 who have served as Small Bangs or Big Bangs are given the opportunity to be coaches to the organization’s younger participants, while receiving thorough training in both basketball and mentorship.

The Big bangs sponsor Special Olympics ACT, providing uniforms and financial contributions yearly the basketball program.  As part of the Special Olympics Program, we provide a free basketball session aimed at intellectually disabled children in our target areas. As well as teaching basketball skills and having a lot of fun, we aim to:

Build self-esteem
Teach respect of self, team mates and officials
Build trust
Promote social inclusion
Develop teamwork skills
Provide exercise and promote an active lifestyle

As part of this program, skills and kids camps for young people with disabilities are run with support from dedicated disability support organizations.

For many, basketball is their first experience of organised team sport in their adopted country. By providing a socially inclusive environment, the Big Bangs are promoting interaction, understanding and respect between new migrants and local communities.  This program has proven to be very effective in removing barriers for young people by providing them with transportation to and from games, uniforms, coaching and equipment.

The Welcome Home program provides coaching for teams supported by the program free of charge, as well as assisting participants with associated financial expenses, such as registration fees, uniforms and equipment.

Night Hoops is a packed Saturday night where kids can be in a safe environment, be fed healthy, well, almost always healthy, food, and enjoy the game of basketball.

Open to everyone 16 to 21, Night Hoops offers both coaching and teaching for those new to the game, as well as a mini-tournament for the more experienced kids.

Counselors, legal professionals and all kinds of experts will be on hand to provide advice for anyone that needs help with any aspect of their young lives, from dealing with jobs and authority figures, to simple help on where to find answers about pressing questions.

We are providing a supportive, relaxed evening full of life-skills and problem-solving techniques, balanced by a healthy dose of sports and teamwork, for a period of 5 to 8 weeks at a time.

Through a combination of basketball tournaments and life skills workshops, we aim to offer an experience that provides young people with a safe, healthy and positive environment at times when they may be vulnerable to harmful and anti-social behavior.

By working together with local stakeholders, businesses, government, and individuals can provide constructive alternatives for the young men and women at risk of drug, crime, and gang-related activity. Night Hoops keeps kids off the streets, teaches them self-discipline, and gives them an opportunity to make a positive change in their lives.

Some of our workshops;

• Employment Opportunities
• Interpersonal Relationships
• Alcohol and Drug Abuse
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases
• Conflict Resolution
• Know The Law, Know Your Rights
• Higher Education
• How To Apply For College

A modified version of our Skills Camp, over the course of 8 weeks, focus is on the technical aspects of basketball as well as developing the capacity of incarcerated youth to identify positive, effective solutions in both their social interactions and ability to deal with emotional and physical stress.  Aimed at all levels of players, with teamwork, openness and positive attitude taught hand in hand with basketball fundamentals, drills and plays.

A “zero-tolerance” method is used to enforce discipline and positive conduct, with great emphasis on both the collective good and the individual’s responsibility to the group.