Charity basketball in memory of Camp ANCHOR counselors

To celebrate the lives of three young Camp ANCHOR counselors who died in a tragic car accident last July, and to raise money for the foundations and scholarships established in their names, the Malone-Mulhall Benefit Basketball Game is set for July 30 at St. John’s University at 1:30 p.m. The event will also include three-point and dunk contests.

Organizers have received tentative commitments from the area’s top players who compete in the NBA, the NBA D-League and professional leagues in Europe.

There is no better way, organizers say, to honor the memory of Michael Mulhall, 22, Jamie Malone, 22, and Paige Malone, 19, of Floral Park, devoted children, friends and co-workers, than through an athletic competition. Sports was a part of their childhood, their daily routine and their work at ANCHOR.

Camp ANCHOR was established to help aid the social and communication skills of the special-needs population, and Mike, Jamie and Paige had each dedicated seven or more years of their lives to this work. Physical education is a large part of the work at Camp ANCHOR, and a day would hardly go by when Mike couldn’t be seen having a catch with a young child with Down syndrome, or Jamie teaching one of her campers with autism how to play soccer. It was a rarity not to find Paige chasing after one of her 6-year-old campers who had taken off with a basketball, insistent that the lines on the court had little bearing on the actual game.

Athletics was not just a time-filler, a way to give the kids a bit of exercise, but an integral part of teaching the campers how to share and cooperate, and, most important, how to take pride in themselves. Mike once spent an entire summer teaching a developmentally disabled camper how to throw a curveball. It is impossible to describe the look of elation on the camper’s face on the last week of camp, when he insisted that the entire staff gather around and watch him hurl the slightest curve from the mound.

Sports is also more than just a testament to the tremendous work the trio did, but also a coping mechanism and a means for those left behind to heal from the crushing loss. Jim Malone, the father of Jamie and Paige, is a career high school basketball coach, having spent more than 20 years coaching boys’ basketball in New York City. He is currently the head coach at Beach Channel High School, and basketball was the game he taught his children, all talented athletes. Malone was especially eager for his season to start last fall, because basketball provided him with a distraction he truly loves, to keep his mind off the loss of the two daughters he loved so much. 

Tickets, $15 for adults and $10 for children 10 and under, will be sold at Rockville Centre on Lister Field from 6 to 10 p.m. July 18-22 and July 25-28 (on the sidelines during basketball games). Tickets will also be available at the Island Garden Basketball Center in West Hempstead and the Floral Park Recreation Center, as well as online at www.mmbenefitgame.com, where the full roster of players will also be listed.