Hoopfest 2026

Next guest is the founder of Northwest Goldberg Cares. Joining me now, we have Daniel Washington. Daniel, welcome to the show. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Absolutely. So for people who may not have heard of Northwest Goldberg Cares, what is that and what inspired you to create it? Yeah, it's a nonprofit organization that I founded in 2017. Really hopes to give back to my neighborhood and my community. Born and raised right there off of West Grand Boulevard. I really felt there was a need for an organization such as what we are, which just gives back with intentionality and really focused on that area. So what was it about your upbringing or where you grew up, your neighborhood that made you say, I want to do something to contribute to improve the lives of those around me? You know, growing up, you know, I was exposed to life in the suburbs as well as the inner city, right? Laying my head down at night, but going to school out on Walt Lake, I was able to experience both worlds, right? The best of both worlds, as I say. So I had great education, had great events and access in the city of Detroit. So some of the things I remember in my childhood was Taste Fest, which used to be right there in New Center. Oh, yeah. Noelle Knight and others. And I just said, we need something like that in our neighborhood. We need something that people will know us by, something that will get people excited and bring families together. And I feel like Poop Fest is just that. Yes. And I can totally relate to that, you know, being from Detroit and spending time in both Detroit and Macomb, going to school in Macomb. And it's kind of two different worlds, if you will. And it seems like you wanted to do somewhat of emerging to bring things that may not have been in the Detroit area to people so that they can experience kind of what you were experiencing being out in the suburbs. 100 percent, 100 percent. We're all about access and opportunity, right? So when you think about our event, it's a three day event that's celebrating the life of someone who grew up in northwest Gilbert, Curtis Jones and the park that we built in 2022. But it also just gives a lot of opportunity to families just come out at no cost to them to really have a good time, summer fun. So you have no bounce houses. You have free food. You have sneaker giveaways on two of the three days. And they have live entertainment, which is always awesome. Right. So you can come out, play the game that you love, a basketball or just enjoy seeing your loved ones play. Just have a good time. And that's really what that's all about. And you mentioned this is all dedicated to the legendary Curtis Jones. If people are not familiar with who that individual is, tell us about him and why this is being done in his honor. You talk to some folks. They'll tell you Curtis Jones is the greatest player to play in the state of Michigan. He hit the game winning shot back, back, back in the day for the Northwestern Colts. And at the end of the day, his story has some tragedy to it. You know, unfortunately, he was passed along despite not having the literacy that you'd want a rising, you know, senior to have. And when he graduated, he ended up not being able to actualize his dreams of making it to the league. Right. He, you know, bounced around to a couple of colleges and eventually fell victim to somebody really victimizing him. He just never was the same after that. So unfortunately, he died in 1999 at age, I think, 49. But he grew up right there in the neighborhood. And it was really important for us to honor his legacy and didn't really share with children the importance of literacy. We talk about student athletes, especially in the heat of NIL and everything that's going on. It's still imperative for kids to know that education has to be at the forefront of your mind, no matter how great you are in athletics. So we really just want to honor and uplift his story. You know, far too often we don't uplift those legends that, you know, are right in front of us, are accessible and we forget them. And we just refuse to do that in our neighborhood. And when you say he fell victim, what happened to him? There's a lot of stories out there. The one that I have been briefed on the most is that somebody decides to spike a drink or give him a substance that unfortunately altered him for the rest of his life. So he battled with mental health and drug addiction. And unfortunately, he wasn't able to overcome that. And that's just one of those cautionary tales that you want children and youngsters to know about. So, yeah. And do you think they need to hear more stories like his, especially when we see so much going on with our youth today? You know, teen takeover is always a huge topic. And we we want our teens to be doing productive things in the community and to be on the right path overall. Do you think stories like that kind of give them that reminder and help them to think about what they're doing before they do it? I think for sure. But I think the other thing I want to make clear is that, you know, Curtis, up until his death, was always seen in the neighborhood showing kids the love of the game that he had. And I think that that's important uplift, right? When you talk about an individual, you know, you can talk about the things that they fell victim to. You can talk about the negative side of this story. But it's also uplifting the genuine goodness of their story. And I think for Curtis, he always talked about how one day he'd want to build a basketball court. You know, he always said that one day he would have a space for children to be able to play. And I think that the court in a lot of ways in the playground is just that. Right. It's keeping his legacy alive, twofold. And that's what we really aim to do is not only do the cautionary side, but uplift his story in a positive way to say, hey, this is a person who loved children, who loved the game of basketball, who gave a lot to it. And we really need to honor that. Right. Both are so important. Talk about that impact. Seeing role models like Curtis himself, what you're doing. There's so many we can name. But what how meaningful is that to the the youth in our community to be able to look up to something like that? I think it's huge. And I think that's one of the things that we have had been able to do. It's been an honor to do with HootFest. We've been able to bring celebrities to the game. We've been able to bring celebrities to the weekend. So, you know, we've had celebrity guests, including Jalen Rose, Chris Webber, Sada Baby, Skilla Baby, Baby Money, and the list goes on. Right. And that's something that, you know, the kids have come to enjoy and come to expect. I'm in partnership with our great mayor, Mary Sheffield. We've been able to do some awesome things to make sure that third day and partnership this year will occupy the summer is something that allows families to really have access to those that they look up to, access to those they see on the screen that they see on stages that they see and they aspire to be. And that's really one of the things about HootFest as well is like we're giving the kids an opportunity to say, hey, I met Sada Baby, I met Skilla Baby, right? I met Jalen Rose. You know, you saw so many people across the state come down to little old Northwest Goldberg to enjoy seeing a historic moment and seeing Chris Webber and Jalen Rose unite in person and live in action. And that was just awesome. It was an honor to be able to facilitate that. And we want to continue that momentum. How excited are the kids to see Jalen Rose, Skilla Baby or Skilla, Sada Baby? What's their reaction when they see all this? They are beyond excited. They're elated. You know, at the end of the day, I jokingly say, you know, the way I look at it is Kerr Jones Park in some ways comes to a place where it feels like Rucker Park. Anytime you've seen Kobe score, what, 60, 70 plus points on Rucker at the Rucker or KD, that's how it feels. You have the celebrity game that is exciting. You have folks that are elated at it, are climbing our fence, having to tell them, you know, get down, running on the court. Like it's just a vibe. It's a moment. That's the best I can say to the kids. It's a vibe. It's a moment. I love that. And you guys are also focusing on a healthy lifestyle overall with this event. I mean, you obviously have the basketball, but it's about community living a healthy life. Why hone in on that focus instead of just let's hoop? But you're making sure you get that message out as well. Well, to be completely honest with you, we built the park in 2022 after our neighborhood not having a basketball court or a playground over 13 years. Put that in perspective. I'm 32 today. I built this thing four years ago. That means at the time I was 28 and I hadn't had a safe place to play basketball in that neighborhood, my neighborhood, since I was around the age of 15. Right. 13 and 15. We lost the basketball court, the public basketball court. So when you think about healthy lifestyles, it first starts with, again, access, access to spaces, access to places that kids can play safely and really have a good time. So for us, you know, the event honors that entire ethos around. We built this space for community and it's by the community being a resident myself, and it's really important to us to make sure that it stays for a long time. So everything from maintenance to upgrades is something that we take very seriously. We're the only court in the city, Detroit, that's NDA size. They have lights that come on every single day, no matter the weather, no matter the temperature. And then also we have a digital scoreboard. Thanks to our partners at PepsiCo. A couple of years ago, they came in and funded that. And we're super honored to have that because these are amenities that when you think about it, you wouldn't imagine they're in the city of Detroit, but they are. And it's right here in our neighborhood. 1941 Ferry Park, Detroit, Michigan 4808. Empowering and so incredible. When you were growing up, what happened to the basketball court that you were used to seeing? Yeah, it was a part of a middle school, McMichael's Middle School, right there at the corner of Marquette and 16th Street in between 16th and Linwood. And unfortunately, when things, you know, transpired with the city's finances, that was one of the first assets that got sold to the Detroit Police Department. And ever since then, it has been a training facility for DPD. Oh, wow. So unfortunately, one of the main things that, you know, the major effects of that is all the grounds of a middle school were taken away and converted to productive space for DPD to be able to train and do the things they do. But that's a huge loss that creates a big void in the neighborhood where that one space that everybody could go to, to have family reunion, to have a repass, to have, you know, just a good time with their families. What's taking away? So we have to do something about it. And we're just grateful that in 2022, we were able to do just that. That is amazing work on that you all have done. What's it like to be able to provide something and fill this void? I mean, you know how it feels to not have something like that in the community. But you've not only been able to create that, but you're making sure it's maintained, you're making sure the lights stay on no matter the weather. What's it like for you to do that? First and foremost, it's an honor to be trusted to do something like this, to have, you know, funders and partners that really believe in our work. You know, from day one, we've had support from Gilbert Family Foundation for the utmost to be able to challenge us and push us to be able to build the space out to a point where it is what it is now. We've also had support from Henry Ford Health. They're right there in the neighborhood. They're building a $3 billion hospital, a medical facility. And then you also have these other partners and sponsors, Ralph C. Wilson Foundation. You have Kresge. You have others who have stepped up to show us love and support to say we believe in your vision and we believe in access and opportunity for youth in Detroit. And I think that that's just a testament of what collaboration looks like and how the private and public sector can work together to really do an amazing thing for the public. And I'm just proud of it. As you should be. What's it like working with Mayor Mary Sheffield? You know, her and her staff are amazing. You know, we've been partnering with them from day one. When it comes to Hoop Fest, they've been gracious enough to every year meet us where we are in terms of increasing the amount of shoes we give away. This year, we're giving out a thousand pairs of sneakers. Wow. The second part of that is going to be on Sunday. So please make sure you register online. Google Hoop Fest Northwest Goldberg pop right up and you can get registered. But, you know, her and her staff have been amazing. She has been a leader amongst leaders when it comes to her vision to bring community and access and opportunity across the city to really address some of the issues of productivity for our youth. And we're just happy to be a part of it, you know, to collaborate on that. You know, Hoop Fest being a three day event is a big undertaking. So we need all the volunteers and support we get. And her staff show up and show up on Sunday, undoubtedly. That's another important part of all this. The volunteers talk about their value, what they're doing to make sure this is put on for the community. 100 percent. An event this big, it requires volunteers. You know, yesterday we had about 15 volunteers come out today. And hopefully we have around 20 and we need more. Sunday is going to be a huge day. We anticipate upwards of 5500 people all at one time. And it just takes in a big, a big task for folks to come out and really support us in that way. So, you know, we encourage people who are looking to volunteer to reach out to our organization. You can find us on Instagram. You can find us online. Reach out and say, hey, can you send me the volunteer link? And we will get that over to you as soon as possible. We're always looking for more folks. All right. Be sure to volunteer if you can. What you said tomorrow will be the sneaker giveaway. What's happening today at Hoop Fest? Yeah, today we have a bunch of competitions. We have a three point contest. We have a free throw contest. We have a half court that we might do today or tomorrow, depending. And then we have also some challenges for the kids. Of course, we have bounce houses. We have free food. We have some tunes from DJ Gifted. Super excited for that. We have everything from lemonade to face painting. The list goes on. So you guys just come on out. You know, you got to come see it to believe it. Like I said, we're super excited for this to be our fourth year. We know that, you know, we're going to continue to do this work, but every year it gets better and bigger. And we're just looking for everybody to know about it and come on out. That is awesome. And then tomorrow, other than the shoe giveaway, is it the same situation? Same situation, but it's a little different. Every day is programmed differently. So we start the morning off with a three on three tournament. We got to figure out, you know, who's going to host that trophy. So come on out or register or come and be sure to get signed up for that. We have some cool prizes on the line for that as well. And then we also have a celebrity game, a partnership with our mayor. So more details to come on that. I know the question probably a lot of people are wondering is, who is that celebrity? No, I'm not going to tell us. Not going to know. No, I can't say no. Is basketball player, rapper, singer? Can't say. Just know that, you know, we're male, female. Can't say. OK, I like this. I'm I'm excited to see what we have in store here. Got to have them come out. So at the end of the day, you know, tomorrow ends with the celebrity game. But in between those two things, we do a sneaker giveaway. And again, there'll be plenty of shoes for folks. We've improved the process year over year to make sure that not only is it continuously being safe, but we're getting to everybody. Right. And that's really what it's about to make sure that everybody gets something. And we're making sure that we take care of those who attend. So, yes. And the celebrities that come out to support you and they see what you're doing, they're out there with the community. What have you seen as far as their reactions from what they're experiencing and supporting? And a lot of ways that are amazement, you know, to see an event like this being done and to be able to bring so many pieces and partners to the table. I think that anybody who comes out will be like, wow, this is a quality event. You know, first and foremost, our safety is important. So we make sure that we have plenty of security. We're working with DPD to make sure that everybody's safe. We have created a rule this year. We're not allowing bags into the facility with all the things that are happening as it relates to public safety. But we want people to come out and have fun. We want people to be able to kind of, as you know, some say, take their brain off and not to worry about, you know, their safety or worry about getting money or anything like that. Just come out, enjoy everything, being free. And I think that the service that attend and believe in us and partner in what we're doing, feel that they feel the love. They feel the love from fans. They feel the love from attendees. And they know that they're in a space that not only can they let loose and have a little fun, but they can also really be one with the community. And that's important to us. It sure is. For people who may not have ever experienced Toothfest, what would you say to encourage them to come out? I would say, come on out. I'm not going to say it once. I'm going to say it twice. Come on out. So visit us at www.nwgobertcares.com backslash Hoopfest, and you will find everything you need about the event. We allow registration on site. We do prefer you to preregister just to allow it to be a little easier for our staff working the front entrance. But otherwise, we're super honored to have you join us this weekend. And we're looking forward to seeing you out there at Curtis Jones Park. All right. Be sure to check it out, Daniel. Thank you so much for joining us. All that you're doing continue to be great and make our community great. We appreciate it. Thank you. I appreciate you.