December Heralds a Spirit of Giving at Rising Stars

The Rising Stars calendar is a full one, with every month showcasing events the foundation offers.

Annual staples include fall and spring tryouts for the winter and summer basketball seasons, along with Rising Stars’ own March Madness, which helps determine the future of its senior class.

Sprinkled throughout the year are clinics, showcase tournaments, and its newest addition, Little Stars, which offers an introduction to basketball for girls and boys in grades pre-K through third.

But it is in December that Rising Stars rallies to bring every family together and demonstrates what the foundation’s meaning and purpose are truly about.

Rising Stars: Michael O’Connell Keeps the Dream Alive

After 30 years at the helm of the Rising Stars Youth Foundation, founder Paul Savramis is never at a loss when asked what areas stand out most to him.

Today, he focused on how being part of a team and having opportunities to learn through sports helps individuals grow. It allows young people to set goals, focus on achieving those goals, and most of all, to have a dream.

Savramis himself has seen dreams become reality, not only for the boys and girls in Rising Stars, but also for himself in building the Rising Stars Athletic Complex. This interview focused on one special Rising Stars dreamer and how the dreams he set early in life continue today.

October 2025 Heralds the Return of the Rising Stars "Little Stars"!

One of Rising Stars' most popular and certainly most endearing yearly programs is the K–3rd grade Little Stars. Talking to Rising Stars Founder Paul Savramis, we asked about how this program began for Rising Stars and why it's one of his favorites.

Q: We see that your Little Stars program starts up again this fall. Why is this program so special?

Paul Savramis: Little Stars is special because it has a great backstory, and that story has a personal meaning for me. Little Stars came about from a program that was started by a great friend and former President 30 years ago, Mr. Jim Davis. It's also a program that I never understood until Jim made me a believer.

Q: Tell us a bit about Mr. Davis, how you met, and why you needed to become a believer in the idea of a Little Stars program.

Jim Davis

Paul Savramis: To start, you need to know that Jim was, and is, a part of NYC history. Jim started that history as a basketball player on the 1952 St. John's National Championship team versus Kansas that also featured a young Dean Smith.

Q: That's some history right there.

Paul Savramis: That's just the beginning. Although St. John's lost that final game, they upset powerhouse Kentucky, the team favored to win, to get there. 1952 remains a legacy year for St. John's. Jim then went on to play for the NBA's Charlotte Royals and continued his career and legend as one of the most decorated homicide detectives in NYC.

Executive Director Dan Gimpel and the Rising Stars Mission

It's been a busy summer for Rising Stars Executive Director Dan Gimpel, and the fall has been even busier.

As the Rising Stars Youth Foundation turns 30 this year, the responsibilities of keeping the program's mission Paul Savramis put together in 1996 continues to be Gimpel's top priority.

Gimpel was a Rising Star himself growing up in Queens, NY, and he played for Paul Savramis throughout high school, so his story is part of Rising Stars’ history. It's one story that he won't ever forget.

As Gimpel explains it, "I really wouldn't be where I am today if Paul Savramis hadn't given me the chance to be a part of Rising Stars. I lived the Rising Stars mission, and I have seen it work for a great many others like me."

Gimpel took on the duties of Executive Director in 2002. He joined Paul Savramis, Jay and Althea Williams, and a team of educators that worked with his coaches in providing the same opportunities that student-athletes need to succeed today that he was given.

Rising Stars Brings Back a Cornerstone Event

August 2025 heralds the return of a Rising Stars cornerstone event. On August 25, Rising Stars will bring back one of the foundation's most popular and enduring events, a cornerstone for 30 years: the end-of-summer four-day camp. This event has not been a part of the Rising Stars calendar since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

We asked Rising Stars founder Paul Savramis about the long hiatus and why this event is so special.

Q: We see on the website and in your newsletters that you're bringing back the end-of-summer camp. Why now, and why have you waited so long?

Paul Savramis: COVID-19 was a terrible time for everyone and very hard for children. It made all activities a challenge even after full restrictions were lifted. It was especially challenging not having a facility of our own and having to navigate around restrictions set by various other sites.

The World of Difference: From Travel to Education

For Paul Savramis, founder of Rising Stars, "Making a World of Difference" has always been a personal mission. When asked about what the organization meant to him, Savramis would often reply about the life lessons that travel taught him and his team. A man of Greek heritage, born in Athens, Paul Savramis knows firsthand the life-changing experience of coming to America, a lesson he believes is just as relevant for today's international and American players. He has led Rising Stars teams and clinics to Greece, Switzerland, Italy, the Bahamas, and France for cultural and social activities, where players have met and competed against foreign teams.

Rising Stars: A Mission Beyond Simple

One of the most challenging questions Rising Stars' founder, Paul Savramis, is asked is to describe the mission of his foundation. Paul Savramis fields this question at every Foundation event, usually accompanied by the request for a "simple, abridged elevator version." For Paul Savramis, that question remains difficult to answer because the mission is anything but simple.

The Rising Stars website states the mission very simply: "To Promote Education." However, an additional description continues, "Utilizes the power of teams to introduce the important values children will need to make correct decisions during their formative years." Then there's the foundation's staple: "To offer children opportunities to Play; Learn; and Grow."