Full Court Peace

While many young entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to panels of executives in hopes of financial support, Mike Evans (Hamilton College '05) and Dave Cullen (Winner of the 2007 Arthur Ashe Courage Award, an ESPY) pitched Full Court Peace to ex-IRA and ex-UDA paramilitary authorities in Belfast, Ireland.

Full Court Peace brings high school boys from rival catholic and protestant high schools together to play basketball, eventually traveling to the US to play American teams. Mike took his cause to the doorsteps of Catholics and Protestants in neighborhoods with a history so violent that they are segregated by walls and protected by the remnants of different covert, paramilitary forces. By meeting with the boys and their families and building trust through cultural understanding, Mike eventually earned their commitment to the cause. "I would meet the boys to play basketball after school once or twice a week and their families invited me over for dinner." At the same time, Mike spoke with other members of the community to locate hidden paramilitary leaders alert them to his idea and earn their support. After earning the trust of certain community members, they guided Mike through community backchannels to the paramilitary leaders so he could engage them in his cause. While attempting to explain to ex-paramilitary leaders the upside of bringing together children whose parents fought each other a generation earlier may seem like a futile gesture, these leaders were surprisingly supportive. "Both sides agreed this was exactly what the boys needed". Once Mike had the support of these leaders, the fundraising began. Continue Reading...