Each day from Dec. 14 through Dec. 25, GOOD Sports will feature a worthy school athletic program in need of funding.
No state has endured bigger cuts to the education budget than Oklahoma, where more than $1 billion has been axed over the last decade and many schools are forced to shift to a four-day week.
At Thackerville Elementary School in Thackerville, Oklahoma, the lack of funding has greatly reduced physical education. The Title I school serves a rural community where 70% of the students received free or reduced-price lunch.
Physical education teacher Adam Judd turned to DonorsChoose.org in hopes of raising $975 to purchase two portable basketball hoops and a basketball rack for his students.
“My students' love for basketball will motivate them to actively participate in physical activity if we have the resources needed to practice basketball at the elementary level. With the increase in physical activity, the students will experience an increase in brain activity which will in return increase academic performance.”
At the time this story was posted, Judd was $735 short of funding this equipment. To help out, the Oklahoma Thunder has said it will match all donations to this basketball program.
Please consider supporting this project or another school athletic program in need.

















Volunteers at the St. Francis Inn pray together before serving a meal on July 19, 2021.
Police close down a section of Kensington Avenue to clear a homeless encampment on May 8, 2024.


Left: A robotic arm. Right: Rice grains.Photo credit:
A diagram on kidney stones.myupchar/ 
A couple engages in a serious conversationCanva
Christy Lam-Julian, a mother in Pinole, Calif., reads to her son in April 2025.
Children who read bedtime stories with their parents are likely to benefit from a boost in creativity – especially if they consider questions about the books.