NORFOLK, Va. — Students around the 757 are headed back to school over the next couple weeks, and the Norfolk State basketball team is helping out.
"We decided to adopt a classroom. We wanted to do 1 or 2 classrooms in every city in the 757 and so far we've been able to do that," says Coach Robert Jones.
They chose classrooms around the area using a social media voting system.
"We put it out on social media, and really it was a voting system. The people who got the most hits or the most votes or the most mentions, we gave the school supplies to."
Next up is figuring out what those classrooms need.
"They sent us their wish list, and we were able to take care of their Amazon wish list, and now they have school supplies for the semester."
The Spartans aren't done once the wish lists are fulfilled. They'll visit the classrooms this week, and then bring the classes to them during basketball season.
"The guys are looking forward to giving back to the community. This week we're going to go take pictures with the classroom. Also we're inviting all those classrooms to our December 9th game against Hofstra."
Jones' has run the most successful program in the MEAC over the last half decade, but he wants to make sure they are just as productive off the off the court.
"Having a holistic approach with your program. Show them that it's more than just on the court, it's off the court things too to get the community involved. When you're in a position of power and you can give back, you should give back."
Jones' program has done back to school events for years, but this will be there first adopting specific classrooms.