Duffy’s Hope instills faith in at-risk Delaware kids

• Samuels estimates more than 4,000 have benefited from his various programs since 1998.
• The Duffy’s Hope boys basketball league is in its 13th year and has 125 players, and the girls league is in its seventh year and has 75.

WILMINGTON – When he was home during an overseas professional basketball career in the late 1990s, Duffy Samuels dabbled in civic duty in his native Wilmington.

He started a foundation aimed at funding programs to aid at-risk students and boost their chances to succeed socially, academically and athletically.

When that pro career, which took him to the Ukraine, Poland and Spain, ended in 2002, the former Glasgow High All-State point guard was ready to make community service his career. But he didn’t like the name of his organization, then called Duffy’s Foundation.

“We were sitting around brainstorming and I said ‘I just hope we come up with something,’ ” Samuels said of the search for a new name. “And someone said, ‘You just said something – hope.’ That’s when I started playing with the word. That’s when we went full speed.’’

Today, Duffy’s Hope, Inc. aids kids ages 12 to 17 through weekly mentoring programs that follow a strict curriculum, and a 10-week summer basketball league for ages 14 to 17 that requires educational workshop attendance. Samuels estimates more than 4,000 have benefited from his various programs since 1998.

Beverly Bell, a Wilmington East Side community activitist, was the person who pinpointed “hope” as the perfect word to attach to Samuels’ civic quest.

“It encompasses so much of what he wants to do,” Bell said of Samuels’ boundless determination. “He wants to do everything he can to make a difference for individuals. I think he was born with that.”

On Aug. 1, all-stars from the summer league will gather at the Carpenter Center for a 4:30 basketball game, followed by a 6 p.m. celebrity game featuring entertainment industry performers, including Yazz the Greatest, also known as Hakeem Lyon, from “Empire” and recording artists Bobby Vee and Tristan Wilds. (Information at www.duffyshopeinc.org).

“We’re trying to save young people by focusing on education, life skills, decision making, job readiness, prevention of drugs and alcohol, financial literacy and etiquette,” Samuels said from his small office in downtown Wilmington’s Community Services Building, festooned with photographs of the program’s participants. “We work with kids all year long.”

Each year, 25 students attend 90-minute sessions on Monday nights over 45 weeks from late August until early the following July at the Salvation Army at Fourth and Orange streets. Many start with the program as sixth-graders and, if successful, take it through 12th grade, as three did this year and are now headed to college.

Some recent funding from the state will allow Samuels, 42, to expand the program to more students, he said. But selection is rigorous and based not only on who needs the instruction most, but also who seems most willing to handle the challenge.

Mahogany Jones said her daughter, Renasia Thomas, was “not communicative and introverted” when she entered the program five years ago. Through Samuels’ mentoring and the various classes, she began to thrive. Thomas graduated from Delcastle High in May and will attended Delaware Tech’s Stanton campus to study nursing.

“Duffy always involved the families and I appreciated that,” Jones said. “His program was able to bring Renasia out of her shell. This year, my son, 14-year-old son Keivon Powell, will be in the program because Duffy can be such a positive experience for a young black male.”

Participants follow a “very intense evidence-based curriculum,” Samuels said, produced by The Phoenix Curriculum. There’s a second session on Wednesdays for those who need additional help, plus required monthly community service projects, which may involve cooking and serving dinner to Ronald McDonald House residents or serving as volunteers for a charity walk.

“Most come from low-income, single-parent households,” Samuels said. “In some, the grandparents are raising them. Most have truancy or behavior issues or are failing in school. Our goal is to get them back on track and make them hopeful.

“The community gives to us and they need to learn to give back,” Samuels added, referring to the community service aspect, “so when you go to college, remember to go back home and help somebody else out.”

That’s exactly what Samuels has done.

Growing up on Wilmington’s East Side, Samuels had to steer clear of trouble with the help of his mom, Karen. He was inspired by many school, city and community leaders, including U.S. Judge Joseph Farnan, who coached a basketball team on which he played.

Basketball was a big help. At Glasgow High, Samuels was a four-year starter at point guard and, under coach Don Haman, was at the forefront of the Dragons becoming a state power.

As a senior in 1992, Samuels was just the second Glasgow boys basketball player to be first-team All-State after he averaged 10.4 points and 6.7 assists per game for the Flight A and Blue Hen conference champions, who won a school record 22 games.

He then went to Hagerstown (Md.) Community College, where an adviser helped steer Samuels away from his desire to be a nightclub owner toward careers that involved helping people. When he transferred to Old Dominion, he studied human services and counseling.

“When I started taking the classes,” he said, “I loved it and I thought, ‘This is my field.’ ”

At ODU, Samuels was also part of a memorable NCAA Basketball Tournament upset when the 14th-seeded Monarchs stunned No. 3 Villanova 89-81 in a first-round game in Albany, New York.

The Duffy’s Hope boys basketball league is in its 13th year and has 125 players, and the girls league is in its seventh year and has 75. The mandatory classes players must attend have topics such as Scholastic Aptitude Test preparation, HIV prevention, the college application and financial-aid process, conflict resolution and other social, education and health subjects.

The idea for that came from Stormin’ Norman’s Classic, the popular Wilmington summer basketball league that ran from 1980-2001 and included an educational component.

“That’s where I got it from,” said Samuels, who played in Stormin’ Norman’s. “Storm gave me the opportunity to not just play basketball, but be a better person.’’

Oliver, who still operates youth-related organizations in Wilmington, praises Samuels for his efforts.

“What Duffy is doing is incredible,” Oliver said. “It makes me feel good and it makes me feel old, too. Duffy is filling an important void. Every year people thank me for having the Classic and what it did for them. Duffy’s Hope has that same impact.”

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @kevintresolini.