Connect
Build relationships through basketball.
It starts with basketball.
It grows through people.
We’re Hoops for Hope NY, a youth-led initiative using basketball to bring people together, give back, and create lasting opportunities to play.
OUR STORYShowing up.
NEW YORK ROOTS.
COMMUNITY AT HEART.
Showing up.
Giving back.
Building forward.
NEW YORK ROOTS.COMMUNITY AT HEART.
In September 2023, Cooper Steinberg and Derek Graffeo began volunteering with JCCA while in eighth grade. Basketball helped them build connections through those early visits. In March 2025, Cooper, Derek, and Dylan Jonisch founded Hoops for Hope together, turning a shared love of the game into a way to give back.
We organized structured basketball events, brought people together through tournaments, and raised funds for community needs. Along the way, the initiative supported a $700 check donation and $1,000 in basketball sneakers donated to Pleasantville Cottage School.
Our fundraising has also brought in our BBYO community and March Madness bracket participants. Today, we’ve raised $4,856 across Hoops for Hope NY.
Now we’re expanding from events and donations into community basketball spaces, starting with Brentwood. The ambition is simple: complete a meaningful project, learn from it, and bring that approach to more communities.
Explore the full timeline and past eventsHoops for Hope is More Than a Game
JCCA shared the story of our founders, basketball tournaments, and basketball-shoe fundraising on January 13, 2026. Our current fundraising totals are supplied by the founders.
Read the JCCA featureMeet the co-founders.
Cooper, Derek, and Dylan have each played basketball at different points in their lives. Together, they founded Hoops for Hope NY to give back to the community that has given them so much. They believe basketball can bring people together across backgrounds and create connections that extend beyond the court.
01
Cooper Steinberg
Co-founder · Harrison Class of 2028
02
Derek Graffeo
Co-founder · Harrison Class of 2028
03
Dylan Jonisch
Co-founder · Harrison Class of 2028
From a game
to something bigger.
Our work has grown by listening to what a community needs and bringing people together to help.
Create
Organize events and bring people in.
Support
Raise funds and meet tangible needs.
Build
Help improve places for a community to play.
THE NEXT CHAPTER IS A TEAM EFFORT.