"SAMF focuses on the importance of being a student first, then athlete second" 

                                     Securing A Mind Foundation    

P.O. Box 1201

Alpharetta, Georgia 30009-1201

                                                                         678-481-1749 

Greetings:                                                                                

Founded in 2000, Securing A Mind Foundation (SAMF) has held basketball camps for children in Georgia, North Carolina and as far away as Italy.  SAMF’s central focus is to educate, empower, and elevate our youth through their involvement in sports with the primary focus on basketball. 

Mission Statement

SAMF seeks to foster childrens’ intellectual, physical, and social development and encourages a moral responsibility to give back.  SAMF believes in each one helping one through programs that serve to enhance the lives of all children, regardless of race or socio-economic status.  SAMF also strives to develop in children those critical life skills that are required to be successful and function as productive individuals in society.  SAMF not only fosters productivity, but it promotes discipline.  We strengthen each child’s commitment to positive social values such as honesty, integrity, personal responsibility and respect for others through example, introducing them to, and allowing them to interact with, role models of society of varied backgrounds.   

Basketball Camps 

Playing the game of basketball requires more than being able to execute the fundamentals of the game.  Implementing basketball skills effectively requires the incorporation of life skills not just on the court but off the court as well.  Good court play requires (1) effective communication (2) interpersonal skills (3) sportsmanship (4) team work (5) conflict resolution, and ultimately (6) good leadership skills.

 Academic/Career Exposure

            SAMF gives participants an opportunity to expand their aspirations beyond the basketball court by offering (1) mentorship, (2) motivational speakers, (3) educational field trips both domestic and international, (4) conversational foreign language, and (5) financial scholarships.   

In 2008, Hyatt Howard, who currently attends Yale University, received a $1000 scholarship from SAMF.  Hyatt Howard, who was sponsored by 100 Black Men of Atlanta, won the award because he maintained at least a 3.5 grade point average throughout high school and displayed leadership skills at the 2004 basketball camp above and beyond his peers. Past recipients of SAMF scholarships are asked to come back to the basketball camps to share their experiences with current participants and to offer words of encouragement. 

          SAMF also collaborates with other programs such as Next Century Youth, The Prodigy Project, Daughters of Zion Transitional Housing, 100 Black Men of North Metro, and individual professionals working in corporate America that volunteer their time to  mentor, tutor, and teach study skills, specifically (1) to youth who are currently struggling and having challenges learning and mastering the educational skills they need to achieve academically, (2) life skills to help youth make sound decisions, and (3) readiness skills for continued educational learning.  SAMF, along with its adjuncts, will offer campers a program developed to provide proactive awareness and continue their education as well as serve as a mechanism for reducing school truancy and recidivism. 

Youth that take advantage of the program will be identified and referred to us by means of  individuals such as school counselors, community churches, and private counseling organizations.  

SAMF’s activities will be initiated as soon as the funds are available.  The foundation will be managed by the executive director and staffed by volunteer personnel who have been identified as having the necessary training, experience, patience, people skills and educational skills necessary to deliver a successful program.

            Please visit www.samuelhines.com for more information. Thank you in advance for your support. 

                                                                                                Sincerely yours,

Samuel Hines,

Founder Securing A Mind Foundation