Before he was the founder of Duffy's Hope, Allen "Duffy" Samuels was just a kid from the East Side of Wilmington.

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He traveled the world playing the game he loved. But every road led back to Wilmington — the city where he grew up, where he learned basketball, and where he saw, up close, what happens to young people when nobody shows up for them.

Allen never forgot that kid. In a lot of ways, he never stopped being him. So in 1998, he came home — not to retire, not to coast on his story, but to do something about it. He started Duffy's Hope with no building, no budget, and no blueprint. Just a huge support system and a belief that the young people of Wilmington deserved someone in their corner.

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Twenty-seven years later, that belief is real.

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Duffy's Hope has served hundreds of youth and families across New Castle County through mentoring, violence prevention, sexual health education, college readiness, summer basketball leagues, and — most recently — a transitional housing program for young women aging out of foster care.

This isn't a peripheral organization. It's an anchor. It's what it looks like when someone decides a community is worth fighting for and refuses to stop. Every August, that belief gathers in one room at the Duffy's Hope Celebrity Basketball Game. For over 20 years, Wilmington has shown up — not just to watch basketball, but to be part of something bigger. This year, the game comes to Chase Fieldhouse.

It's More Than a Game.

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It's a reunion. A statement. A fundraiser that directly powers the programs keeping young people in school, out of harm's way, and moving toward futures they couldn't have imagined without someone first imagining it for them.

On August 1st, we show up for Duffy the way he's been showing up for this city.