By Derek Thompson | The Selma Times-Journal

All in Sports Outreach, Inc., a new Christian organization formed to reach out to kids through sports, will host a youth basketball camp at three local sites on June 29-July 1.

Six friends from Selma that have a passion for serving the Lord and their community created the group.

One of the group’s leaders, Stewart Hardy, said after a successful camp in Belize last year, the group wants to serve together again.

This will be the organization’s first event in Selma.

“It’s easy to go to another country and do a mission trip so we wanted to go to our own hometown,” Hardy said. “At the end of April the puzzle started to come together and we decided that we were going to do it.”

The camp will consist of the children, ages 5-18, learning basketball skills/drills and life lessons from the Bible.

Hardy said the three camp sites will be the George Washington Carver neighborhood, the corridor between Elkdale Baptist and R.B. Hudson Middle School and at the School of Discovery.

“Our main purpose is to promote unity and racial reconciliation through the power of the gospel,” Hardy said.

“That’s our overall mission; to bring the community together. We believe sports to be a proven vehicle to reach the youth of today with the hope of the gospel.”

The theme of the camp is “ALL IN,” taken from Colossians 3:17 – “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

The event will be free of charge for participants.

For more information, please contact Stewart Hardy at (214) 709-8365 or Rand Smith at (334) 412-7887.