FREMONT, Michigan — For its tenth year, the Heart Over Everything tournament is set to return to Fremont.
The three-on-three games will begin on March 26 at 10 a.m. in the Fremont Middle School.
Teams can sign up right before the event until around 9:45 a.m. They can also sign up prior to the event by messaging their Facebook page here. All proceeds will benefit the American Heart Association.
For Heart Over Everything founder Jacobb Stever, this is much more than just another competition.
When he was five years old, Stever's aunt passed away from a massive heart attack from a heart condition that went undetected. She was only 37 years old.
"She passed away so young, she was such like a light in my life and my family's life," he said.
Stever's loss lit a fire within him. Taking inspiration from his elementary school's Hoops for Heart event, he slowly started to build his own fundraiser.
"I wanted to find my own way to raise money, spread awareness, educate people and make that impact for an organization that's really important to me," he said.
Stever always set his sights on helping the organization as much as he could. When he was a kid, he would ask for money for his birthday to donate to the American Heart Association. Word quickly spread around the community about his mission.
"Instead of getting me a gift, [people would] donate money. And then it turned into a basketball game with my friends. And then it turned into a tournament. And now, we've won a national award through the American Heart Association," he said, "10,000 plus dollars and 10 years, and now it's just it's become such a big thing."
In their first year running, the event raised $1,000. Since then, the amount has grown to $2,000 each year, with their highest amount hitting $2,800.
Over the past decade, the Heart Over Everything tournament has raised over $10,000 for the American Heart Association.
"Seeing the work the American Heart Association does, makes me it just makes me feel proud to know that me and my community played some part in the things that they're doing," he said.
Despite having two years of the event cancelled due to COVID, Stever says the tournament is back and better than ever for its tenth year.
But for Stever, he'll always remember the reason he began the tournament — his aunt.
"I think about her every time around this time," he said, "I think she'd be very proud of what we've been able to do and to see."
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