Everyone on the Home Team got a Play Marin Basketball
Last spring, local nonprofit Play Marin, in partnership with Marin Magazine, kicked off the first annual Players’ Night FUNdraiser in Sausalito. At this “not your kids playdate,” attendees enjoyed such activities as riding a mechanical bull (with a Mt. Tam backdrop), vintage arcade games courtesy of Celebrations of Marin, a fiercely competitive flip cup tournament and delicious food and drinks by Dee’s Organic Catering, LLC, Salt Point Co. and East Brother Beer. Everybody danced the night away, and it was all photographed by the talented Kahlil Photography.
Want to join in the fun this year? Click here for details and early bird tickets.
Marin Community Showed up!
Many of the ~200 attendees who purchased tickets to this first-of-its-kind event committed to ongoing support by joining Play Marin’s Sustainer’s Club. Local businesses and residents alike provided a trove of gifted items for the silent auction. Prizes included basketball training and camp with 24/8 Training, nights at luxury hotels like the Beacon Grand and Cavallo Point, an e-bike, a snowboard and so much more. Several wonderful businesses provided the in-kind contributions that helped make the event so fun (and delicious).
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Play For the Kids
Connections were made as participants cheered on people attempting to ride the bull, and attendees bonded over Giant Jenga, Connect Four, Beer Pong, Pac-Man and a shared belief in supporting diversity, equity and inclusion in play and beyond.
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Dance Dance Dance
Proceeds from Players’ Night 2023 provided local youth the ability to attend summer camp and otherwise supported Play Marin’s mission to “close the activity gap” for Marin City kids. The widely attended event was also a living testament to Play Marin & Paul Austin’s tireless efforts to promote inclusion throughout our beautiful county.
In 2012, Paul Austin, a third-generation Marin City resident, started Play Marin with one basketball team of nine players. Today, the organization reaches over 300 kids annually through summer camps, team sports and a wide variety of enriching activities such as surfing, sailing and mountain biking. Play Marin’s work addresses two challenges Marin youth face: inadequate access to extracurricular and athletic opportunities in Marin City and a lack of racial, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity in the broader Marin community.
Play Marin believes that Play is the Way! In short, ensuring that youth grow up with a diverse peer group on a level activity playing field helps young people from all backgrounds thrive.
