Bit of Joy
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Betty Burney, founder of I'm A STAR Foundation, supports the celebrity basketball team during a July 26 basketball game crated to raise funds for unhoused students in Duval County Public Schools. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today

BIT OF JOY | Celebrity Basketball Classic

By Will Brown
Published on July 28, 2025 at 10:23 am
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The I’m A Star Foundation raised money for unhoused students in Duval County with its annual Celebrity Basketball Classic over the weekend. The game drew nearly 1,000 people to Riverside High School. Duval County School Board Chair Charlotte Joyce served as an honorary cheerleader — and brought her green and gold Ed White High cheerleader jacket. Joyce was joined by Duval County judges Shayla Lee and Rhonda Peoples-Waters, Mayor Donna Deegan and local leaders in education, accounting and insurance. I’m A Star founder Betty Burney said the goal was to raise $65,000. “It was electric. It was intergenerational. Everyone came out for one purpose — and had fun!” Despite multiple 3-pointers from Community Foundation CEO Isaiah Oliver in the second half, the celebrity team lost to the youth All-Stars 59-54.

author image Reporter email Will joined Jacksonville Today as a Report for America corps member. He previously reported for the Jacksonville Business Journal, The St. Augustine Record, Victoria (Texas) Advocate and the Tallahassee Democrat. He also contributed to WFSU Public Media’s national Murrow Award-winning series “Committed: How and why children became the fastest growing group under Florida’s Baker Act.” Will is a native Floridian who has earned journalism degrees from Florida A&M University and the University of South Florida.

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