The event will benefit the Harrington/Hartford PTO, with staff putting their skills to the test against the comedy antics of the Wizards.
Several staff members from Mt. Laurel’s schools are getting ready to put their basketball skills to the test when the Mt. Laurel Magic once again take on the Harlem Wizards in their annual basketball fundraiser at Lenape High School on March 26.
As in years past, the event is being sponsored by the Harrington/Hartford PTO and will help the PTO raise money to fund after-school clubs at the two schools.
Similar to the Harlem Globetrotters, since 1962 the Harlem Wizards have provided audiences with basketball games that fuse players’ awe-inspiring techniques with comedic antics.
According to the Wizards’ website, last year alone, the team played in more than 400 communities across the country while raising more than $2 million.
PTO co-president Heather Blum described the game as a fun and exciting event.
“It’s a great show and it’s funny,” Blum said. “They play and also pick kids and adults throughout the whole audience to help and it’s just great.”
The Wizards are set to face the hometown team made-up of teachers and staff members from the district known as the Mt. Laurel Magic.
Blum thanked the staff for their support and said the community was fortunate to have staff members in the district willing to come out on a Sunday afternoon to play in the game.
“It’s just a fun game, and we’re very lucky that our staff is willing to come help with this great event,” Blum said.
According to Blum, every year the PTO is able to contribute about $15,000 to each school for after-school clubs and activities, with the Harlem Wizards events serving as the PTO’s main fundraiser for the year.
“Without this event and the other efforts of the community, we wouldn’t be able to help the schools with all the after-school clubs as we do,” Blum said.
Blum described the game as a true community event, as no matter which of the district’s six elementary schools children attend, all students in the district eventually pass through Hartford and Harrington.
“We wanted it to be a community event, because all the elementary schools feed into the same place, and it’s going to benefit those kids when they get there,” Blum said.
The Harlem Wizards and Mt. Laurel Magic will face off at Lenape High School on March 26 starting at 2 p.m.
To purchase tickets online, visit www.harlemwizards.com.
For an order form that can filled out and returned at a child’s school, visit the PTO’s page on the district’s website at www.mtlaurelschools.org.
General admission tickets start at $12.
