PTHS Needs an Outdoor Basketball Court

As we all know, rural communities like ours are in critical need of activities for our youth to keep us healthy, engaged, and active. This basketball court, located at Port Townsend High School, will provide a much-needed opportunity for youth - and adults, too - to enjoy the love of basketball.

We are a group of four students from PTHS raising money to fund the construction of outdoor basketball facilities on the PTHS campus.

We are four seniors (Austen Hammer, Michael Petta, Lorenzo McCleese, and Toby Fulton), and we all met in the 4th grade. We grew up together playing basketball and making memories in places like the outdoor courts at Blue Heron Middle School and the Courthouse. When we started at the high school in 9th grade and found the outdoor court behind the Gael Stuart building to be completely unusable, we started planning our dream of a new court. On that day four years ago, we began to see a tremendous senior project opportunity and, more importantly, an excellent opportunity to improve student life at PTHS.

Anybody who loves the game of basketball knows how much of a blessing a quality outdoor court is, especially in a place like a school, where youth spend most of their days. A well-built and maintained court is a site where teenagers can build countless hours of fun and memories, which is why the PTHS campus’ lack of a usable outdoor court is so heartbreaking.

What will the funds be used for?

We will put our funding into an account set up with the school and use it to pay for the construction of the court. Specifically, our team will use it for grading the court, paving, rims/backboards, line painting, and maintenance.

How are we connected to the cause?

We grew up in this community, so we know how difficult it is to partake in outdoor physical activities in our rural area with limited options. We have been active on our school basketball teams as players and team captains, and we know how many young people in our area would benefit from this project. This outdoor court has been our dream for four years, and we are committed to making it happen!

How will the donations help others?

These donations will ensure the creation of an outdoor basketball court for the use of youth and adults in our community. As we mentioned before, there aren’t a lot of activities for youth in our small, remote area. Research shows that keeping youth engaged in healthy social activities can prevent substance abuse. We see this as a massive benefit to our whole community, both for those who have fun on the basketball court and for the community in supporting the health and well-being of our youth.

Why is it particularly important—why does the recipient need this donation?

We need this funding amount because it will allow us to pay for the project entirely. It will also allow us to accomplish our dream and complete our senior project.

Progress so far on the project

We have been working hard since June of 2022 to turn our ideas into reality, and now we are asking the generous people in our area to top off the funding for our vision. We have been working alongside Bruce Seton of Seton Construction, who has been and continues to be a crucial help in understanding the actual logistics of the project. Bruce is generously helping us for no fee. We will put our funding into an account set up with the school to pay for court materials and in paying Lakeside construction, who will most likely be doing the court's surface.

Fundraiser goal

We received an estimate from Bruce Seton for the project's final cost of around $20,000. We are excited to announce that we applied for and received a $5,000 grant from Jefferson County Public Health towards the total cost of the basketball court from a prevention program. This leaves our goal for this fundraiser at $15,000.