Midnight Basketball

Midnight Basketball

CRYP created Midnight Basketball in 1996, seeking to give Cheyenne River’s young people a safe, positive, drug- and alcohol-free environment to play their favorite sport, hang out with friends, get something to eat, and stay up past the city of Eagle Butte’s 10 p.m. curfew. The program succeeded well beyond our original vision.

Over the years, local law enforcement has reported that community-wide crime rates fall on Midnight Basketball nights. The program also helped build the foundation for our Native Wellness programming, and it remains our signature wellness program.

During a typical Midnight Basketball season, 50 to 100 teens will attend each event. When they’re with us, they engage in healthy and sober lifestyle choices, and they embrace the concepts of personal responsibility, teamwork and positive self-esteem. The program also has proven to be a powerful tool to alleviate bullying. We see new friendships take shape, and we witness the many ways the teens support each other.

Midnight Basketball is open to youth ages 13-18. During the summer months, it runs from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. every Friday night. During the school year, schedules permitting, CRYP offers the program on one Friday per month.

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Founded in 1996 as the brainchild of a former long-term volunteer, Midnight Basketball is CRYP’s signature wellness program for teens. It fosters healthy and sober lifestyles, physical fitness, personal responsibility, teamwork and positive self-esteem; it also helps alleviate bullying, because it brings kids from all social circles together for hours of late-night ball, music, refreshments and fun. Learn more about Midnight Basketball.

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