For the third consecutive year, USC Upstate Athletics and Ingles Markets partnered together to make a series of donations to local non-profit organizations based on the performance of various Spartan teams.

For every 3-point basket made by a men's or women's basketball player or strikeout from a Spartan baseball or softball pitcher, Ingles made a contribution to three local charitable organizations.   Checks were presented to three organizations - Gibbs Cancer Center, Kids Upstate and Hope Center for Children - during halftime of the USC Upstate men's basketball game on Saturday, December 9, 2023 inside the Eddie and Ann Payne Arena at the G. B. Hodge Center.
 
$3 for 3's
The first Ingles donation program to be set up was $3 for 3's – a $3.00 donation for every 3-point basket made during the 2022-23 basketball season. The partnership benefited the Gibbs Cancer Center and Research Institute Survivorship Programs.

The Survivorship Program is committed to addressing patients' unmet needs, providing education related to prevention, and encouraging the adoption of a healthier lifestyle.  The on-going partnership with the Gibbs Cancer Center and USC Upstate basketball is in memory of Laurette Dickerson and dedicated to all who continue the fight against cancer in all forms and their families who share their journey.

In 2022-23, the Spartan men's and women's basketball teams combined to connect on 340 three pointers, equaling a $1,020 donation to the Gibbs Cancer Center. 
Members of the Upstate women's basketball team, fresh off a 61-58 victory over Furman earlier in the day, assisted Melissa Leavell, executive director of branding and advertising at Ingles Markets, to present the check to Gibbs Cancer Center survivorship program director Julia Humphries.

Thus far in the 2023-24 season, the USC Upstate basketball programs have combined for 137 three-point shots made as the season nears the halfway mark.

K's for Kids - Softball
The Spartan softball team selected the Hope Center for Children for the 2023 "K's for Kids" program.  The Upstate pitching staff fanned 243 batter this past spring and for each strikeout, Ingles made a $1 donation to the Hope Center for Children. 

The mission of Hope Center for Children (HCFC) is to build stable, healthy families and to provide children a safe place from abuse and neglect. HCFC is the result of a 2013 merger between two organizations with histories of providing residential care for children in foster care, The Ellen Hines Smith Girls' Home and the Children's Shelter of the Upstate. These two strong organizations merged to form Hope Center for Children, resulting in a pooling of resources to provide a wider continuum of services for children and families in Spartanburg and the surrounding areas.

Returning members of the Upstate softball pitching staff alongside Melissa Leavell from Ingles presented Andrea Payment, Director of Development for the Hope Center, a check in the amount of $243 on December 9^th.


K's for Kids - Baseball
On the baseball diamond, Upstate tore up the record books again, posting a program record 497 strikeouts in a season that ended with the Spartans finishing as the Big South Conference runner-up.  Ingles matched each Spartan "K" with a $1.00 donation to Kids Upstate.

Kids Upstate was originally founded as Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Spartanburg in 1988 by community leaders concerned about the workforce. A Board of Directors quickly adopted a comprehensive approach to operate youth programs in existing facilities. Spartanburg District 7 first welcomed Clubs into their schools, and an outcome-focus soon led to expansion of Clubs and Smart (homework) Centers operating in all seven Spartanburg Districts.  In 2006, the Spartanburg organization merged with Boys & Girls Club of Cherokee County to form Boys & Girls Clubs of the Upstate, now Kids Upstate. Today, the organization operates Clubs in three Spartanburg Districts and Cherokee County schools.

USC Upstate athletics routinely hosts, at no charge, various Kids Upstate clubs at home events and has featured the Meeting Street Academy club in both editions of Morgan Square Madness. In October, the USC Upstate women's soccer program hosted a free after school clinic for over 100 Kids Upstate participants from three clubs.

Joining Melissa Leavell from Ingles on December 9^th to present a check to Kids Upstate Meeting Street Academy director Nick Blash were returning members of the Upstate baseball pitching staff.

For more on Ingles partnership with community non-profit organizations through USC Upstate, contact Lenny Mathis, senior associate athletic director for external operations at LDMathis@uscupstate.edu