Teaming Up Against Hunger Tips Off First Season

CHELMSFORD, Mass. – The inaugural Teaming Up Against Hunger (TUAH) program, presented by Sal’s Pizza, kicked off with back-to-back pep rallies at the Center School in Chelmsford, Mass. and the Tarbox School in Lawrence, Mass. in late-January.

Several weeks prior, the Celtics, along with Sal’s Pizza and Project Bread, had tasked the fourth- and fifth- graders in each school with creating Public Service Announcement (PSA) scripts focused on ending hunger and eating healthy. Once the students created the scripts, the Celtics returned with a professional film crew to shoot the PSAs. The result was two distinctly different, yet equally effective, PSAs that share educational facts, common misconceptions about hunger, and realistic solutions to end hunger in our local communities.

For the final pep rallies, the students involved in the PSAs were given a private basketball clinic with former Celtics player Dana Barros and Lucky the mascot. The students participated in dribbling drills, followed by a shooting demonstration by the all-time great shooter Barros. After the clinic was complete, the rest of the student body and administrators joined the fourth- and fifth-grade students for the full assembly.

Lucky got the crowd fired up with some dunks, flips and acrobatics, with the goal being to get the gym as loud as the TD Garden. A speaking panel followed, with the panel consisting of Sal Lupoli (founder of Sal’s Pizza), Ellen Parker (Executive Director of Project Bread), Dana Barros and Lucky. Each shared a different story about why the fight against hunger is important to them, and how proud of the students they were for speaking up for what they believe in.

The speakers closed by queuing up the final PSA, which included portions of each classroom’s PSA script, and ended with the consistent message for people to register for Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger on May 4. Both PSAs brought cheers from students and administrators alike, as well as heartfelt applause for the students who wrote the scripts. Finally, the students, Barros, Lucky, and Sal’s Pizza presented a “big check” donation to Ellen Parker at Project Bread aimed toward ending hunger. The PSAs will air on Celtics.com, Sals-pizza.com, ProjectBread.Org and play during a Celtics home game this season.

In the coming months, the Celtics, Sal’s Pizza and Project Bread will visit schools in Lowell, Woburn and Boston looking for their solutions on how to end hunger. 

By Steve Thiel  ·  January 28, 2013  ·  Celtics.com  ·  Original Article