On Saturday Nov. 23, 2024, Kiva club, an international service organization at Stevenson, hosted its annual Ball-a-Palooza in the Sports Center. This year, the tournament raised roughly 400 dollars for its mission of helping fund entrepreneurs around the world.

With over 20 teams participating, the event had 3v3 basketball games that helped raise money supporting entrepreneurs in developing countries. Kiva Vice President Rakshith Bellam ’25 said that the E-board worked hard this year on changing the tournament to be more engaging and exciting for students that participated.

“In order to help increase participation we tried changing tactics and gave new incentives like giving tickets to a Bulls game for the winners of the tournament,” Bellam said.

This year, the teams of three competed against each other in a bracket format, with the games lasting 16 minutes each. Atishay Patni ’26, along with other students, felt the event was a great opportunity for students to play against each other and create lasting memories.

“It helped not only make friends but allowed me to connect with the community even though I play basketball just as a recreational sport,” Patni said.

While Patni understood how Ballapalooza was more than just a basketball tournament and helped several individuals across the world, he said he loved the community aspect of the event. Bellam also appreciates that the impact the event held on individuals wasn’t simply within the local community.

“We worked hard to make the event more exciting for everyone,” Bellam said. “It isn’t just about the competition through the event but it is about helping connect our community here and trying to create impact worldwide.”

Bellam said that it wasn’t simply about raising money but symbolized how a local event can create lasting positive impact. Regardless of the distance between individuals, he believes lives can be positively impacted through the local community coming together.

“When we look at the donations we received, what we see is our community investing in other futures,” Bellam said. “I feel like this event shows how a simple local school event can make an impact around the world.”