Players got trophies, but teen is the prize

Matthew Neese has the heart of a champion.

The 13-year-old Calhoun Academy student has fond memories of his younger days playing in a Cayce youth basketball league. So when he learned recently that a championship team from the league might go home empty-handed, he stepped up to the line in a big way.

Coach Marion Taylor’s team had claimed the division championship at Spires Gym in Cayce, but didn’t have the resources to buy trophies for the players.

“I know how much fun I had in that league when I was a little kid,” Matthew said. “I remember that I like getting trophies, so I felt they should get one, too.”

To ensure they did, Matthew donated his eight-in-one gaming table and his 10-speed bicycle for a fundraiser. The proceeds from the sales were enough to buy trophies for the entire team.

Matthew earlier had received the 10-speed from his cousin after donating two of his bicycles to Hurricane Katrina evacuees. But he said the outcome was more than worth his sacrifice.

“I know that great things happen in that gym. It was just a little thing I could do to make a special moment in a child’s life.”

Matthew is the son of Kirk and Theresa Neese.

“It made me cry,” his mother said. “That’s what he wanted to do. So you see it pays forward.”

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Keep the Midlands Beautiful is encouraging civic, academic, neighborhood and faith-based groups to participate in the 2008 Great American Cleanup: Midlands Makeover Challenge.

Groups can take part in one of several cleanup projects and enter to win more than $2,000 in cash prizes.

Projects may include, but are not limited to:

• Planting trees and flowers

• Conducting cleanups of neighborhoods, waterways and dump sites

• Cleaning and painting over graffiti

• Creating wildlife habitats or community gardens

• Tagging storm drains

The Midlands Makeover Challenge is an annual event focusing on beautification, litter prevention and recycling projects throughout the city of Columbia and Richland and Lexington counties.

Groups must pre-register their projects with KMB, conduct their projects before May 1 and submit “before” and “after” photographs with a post-project summary.

To register or to learn more about the Midlands Makeover Challenge, contact Keep the Midlands Beautiful at (803) 733-1139.