Hope College’s Unified Hope student organization, a Special Olympics Michigan chapter, will host its first Unified Hope vs. Hope College faculty/staff basketball game on Tues., March 10, at 7 p.m. in the DeVos Fieldhouse. This event is free and open to the public.
The game will complete the Unified Hope winter basketball season. More than 100 community members came together to play on six teams through Unified Hope, pursuing the goal of inclusion through sports.
The Unified Hope team will face a team composed of Hope College faculty and staff, including Hope College President Matthew Scogin and Provost Richard Griffin.
Local Unified high school programs have been invited to attend, as well as the local Holland community, to support the athletes in this organization with public recognition and encouragement.
This chapter works alongside Special Olympics Michigan to create opportunities for athletes with intellectual disabilities age 18 and older. In these programs, athletes are encouraged to challenge themselves and interact with other athletes and partners.
Unified Hope describes this game as “more than a friendly matchup—it’s a celebration of relationships, shared joy, and the spirit of inclusion that defines Unified Hope.”
Founded by Hope students Cara Anderson, Daniel Hesselbein, Sydney Miller, Jack Hollebeek and Caleb Fisher, Unified Hope organizes intramural sports every semester. Unified Hope opens opportunities to connect Hope College with the local community, bringing together participants from both Hope College and the Holland area.
Sydney Miller, Unified Hope president, said, “Unified Hope provides opportunities to bring our campus together to share our love for sports with people of all abilities. Over the past two years of having a Unified Hope student club, it's been such a blessing to see the ways our Hope students celebrate inclusion and develop friendships with our community athletes.”
Interest from the Hope faculty and staff exceeded the available roster spots, reflecting strong campus support for the upcoming event.
A member of the Unified Hope team shared that, “Unified Hope basketball is about far more than wins and losses. It’s about showing up for one another, playing hard, laughing often and living out Hope College’s Christian commitment to community, leadership and service.”
To inquire about accessibility or if you need accommodations to fully participate in the event, please email accommodations@hope.edu. Updates related to events are posted when available at hope.edu/calendar in the individual listings.