I Love Our Youth: About Us

Hosea Givan, Sr. and
Cecil Hollar, Jr.
Founders of the Hollis Biddies
(with lil' Bruce Bishop)

Hosea and LL Cool J

Hosea Givan II with LL Cool
@President Clinton's
Youth Summit
Click on picture to enlarge.

Sup Sophs with Ron Artest

1995 ILOY H.S. Super Sophomores featuring
L.A. Laker Ron Artest
fifth from left
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Jam Master Jay of RUN DMC

The 2003 season was dedicated to former Hollis Biddies player and coach,
Jason Mizell AKA Jam Master Jay.
Click on picture to enlarge.

Justin & Buttah

Buttah Wilson and Justin Newton

Hollis Biddies Steppers

Milton Carter and Jeff Van Gundy

HISTORY

I Love Our Youth, Inc., a not-for-profit 501c3 organization created to uplift young people, was founded by Hosea James Givan II. The vision of this organization was primarily inspired by the Hollis Biddy Basketball League. In 1971, Hosea Givan, Sr. founded the program in an effort to present a positive alternative for boys and girls in Southeast Queens. After coaching two seasons in the East Harlem Biddy Basketball League, Hosea Givan Sr. and Cecil Hollar, Jr., both IBM employees at the time, created the Queens program. They included not only a basketball league, but cheerleading and a double dutch program as well in order to offer both boys and girls an alternative to drugs and violence. The program was originally held at Andrew Jackson High School, but soon moved to JHS 192. During this approximately 10-year phase of the Hollis Biddy Basketball League, over one thousand youngsters benefited from involvement with the league.

In 1993, Hosea J. Givan, II resurrected his father's program by creating and incorporating the organization, I Love Our Youth, Inc. (ILOY). ILOY began operating programs, including the Hollis Biddies Basketball League, in 1994. The fall of 2009 will be the 16th season of the program being offered at PS 118 in the Hollis section of Queens. The program has remained a constant at this school despite changes in four school principals.

In 1998, ILOY began providing services at a second site, JHS 275 in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. JHS 275 is the home of the Police Athletic League (PAL) Brownsville Beacon Center. PAL has contracted with ILOY to operate a Saturday program including a Biddy Basketball League at this school's Beacon program.

In 2000, I Love Our Youth, Inc. received a proclamation from Mayor Rudy Guliani. On MLK, Dr. Day in 2003, the Hollis Biddies performed at half time of the NY Knicks vs. Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden. Spring of 2006, the organization visited the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

MISSION

As an organization created to uplift young people, ILOY strives to provide good role models, positive and challenging youth activities, and a mechanism for strengthening communities through volunteerism. The message is one of building character and responsibility in youth and parents alike, through love, communal effort and the spirit of mutual support. ILOY accepts the challenge of serving as an anchor for future generations. Innovative programs are aimed at reversing the effects of absentee fathers and negative role models. Programs and activities strive to promote and inspire: leadership, self-esteem, love and understanding; collective and individual responsibility; and investment in the community by "giving back".

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chair, Hosea James Givan II; Treasurer, Samuel Hercules, JD.,CPA; Secretary, James Coursey, Member, Dr. Joel Bruce Fieldman; Member, Det. Flora Krind; Member, Milton Carter; Member, Dr. Mitchell Efros; Member, Donald Hazelton, Esq.; Member, Rachel Cheeks-Givan; Member, Rhonda Hargrove and Member, Dr. Gerald M. Givan

Click below to learn more about our Board
Board of Directors

Volunteer Staff

Mrs. Bailey, Girls Dance Coordinator
James Coursey, Saturday Program Director, 16 & under Coach
Oswald Stubbs, 5th Grade Coach
Donald Francois, 9th and 4th Grade Coach
Hosea J. Givan II, 6th/7th Grade Coach