Giving back to the Detroit community is a pillar of GameAbove; it also defines the Detroit Police Athletic League (PAL) and is a primary focus for the Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball and volleyball teams. The three organizations have coordinated to use each other’s talents to help make a difference with kids in Detroit.

The program is called “Pen PAL.” EMU athletes write encouraging letters to members of the PAL program. The youth, in return, write letters or design cards for the college players, who use that inspiration and put them on display in and around their locker room.

“GameAbove has seen the growth in Detroit and appreciates how influential the PAL program has been with the area’s youth,” says GameAbove chief outreach officer Matt Shepard. “We are proud to partner with PAL and continue our strong relationship with EMU to help make a difference in children’s lives.”

EMU women’s basketball head coach Sahar Nusseibeh says, “We are very proud of our women and how they represent both themselves and our program. We are building strong leaders and women of character. Our ladies hope to inspire the young girls of PAL and, in turn, gain perspective from their stories.”

“Programs like Pen PAL show our girls that their voices matter,” says PAL CEO Fred Hunter, “connecting with college athletes who are walking in their purpose gives our youth something powerful to look up to and believe in.”

EMU head volleyball coach Kevin Foeman believes this initiative falls in line with what his program stands for, “We believe leadership starts with service. The Pen PAL initiative allows our student-athletes to use their platform in a meaningful way. Writing these letters reminds our team that impact goes far beyond the court. If we can encourage even one young person to believe in themselves a little more, then we’re doing something that truly matters.”

Since 2019, GameAbove has donated more than 38-million dollars to community initiatives and is dedicated to working with many Detroit charities to help them reach their goals. In addition to the sports support, members of the EMU athletes will take part in PAL’s “Girls Empowerment Workshop Series.”

GameAbove believes in the power of youth sports, and this adds to the entity’s growing list of youth sports collaborations. In the last year, GameAbove partnered with the Detroit Pistons’ Court of Dreams, providing young athletes from across Michigan with the opportunity to play on the same court as the Detroit Pistons and other NBA players before a Pistons home game. Additional partnerships have included First Tee of Greater Detroit, YOUNG3 with the BIG3, the GameAbove Sports Scholarship at H-FARM International School in Italy, and the Bruton Basketball Foundation in Australia.