Ball to Give
Basketball, teamwork and giving back.
First pilot in planningExplore the first step ↗OUR STORY
An idea that grew
with Jihyul.
BEFORE ALL TO GIVE HAD A NAME
The ball is round.
Everyone gets a chance.
In fourth grade, Jihyul ran for student council with a hand-painted poster about fairness, possibility and second chances. His family traces the idea behind ALL TO GIVE to that campaign.
“Everyone gets a second chance.”From Jihyul’s campaign poster
His 2024 student council application draft carried the same idea forward: a proposed “Buddy Club” where students who felt left out could find friends.
Today, that thought is growing into a wider invitation — to learn, play and serve together.
HIS OWN WORDS & DRAWINGS
Small beginnings.
The same open invitation.
Before ALL TO GIVE, Jihyul was already exploring friendship, learning and belonging.
DRAWING · LABELED 2024–2025
Together, we’re round.
Equality. Friendship. Joy. Jihyul’s Hamilton Elementary drawing returns to the idea that everyone has a place.
KOREAN WRITING · 2023–24 SCHOOL YEAR
More than a game.
In his essay, Jihyul describes learning table tennis with his mother, enjoying a sport across generations, and imagining where it might lead.
Our Korean-school roots ↗Original work shared by the family. These personal memories predate ALL TO GIVE.
FRIENDSHIP CAME FIRST
A place
to belong.
At TKBC in Troy, Michigan, Jihyul found friends, basketball and a place to belong. Those memories helped inspire ALL TO GIVE — and new ways to learn and give together.
ALL TO GIVE’s first documented planning meeting: September 19, 2026.
OUR MICHIGAN CHAPTER · 2021–2025
A language to share.
A community to grow with.
For our family, Korean school brought learning and giving into the same room: Eric as a volunteer teacher, Jihyul as a student, and a community growing together.
Family archive. Faces and personal labels are obscured. These memories predate ALL TO GIVE.
함께 배우고, 함께 나누다.Learn together. Share together.
- 2021
A classroom beginning
September lesson plans name Eric as a Korean-school teacher. Early lessons paired language practice with stories and the question, “May I do volunteer work?”
- 2022–2023
School life, beyond a lesson
The archive holds classroom memories and the school's calendar of Hangeul Day, Lunar New Year, storytelling and a school festival. Learning also meant time together.
- 2023–2024
Language, culture & encouragement
Eric's class materials brought together Korean language, stories and discussion. Later materials emphasized improvement and steady effort alongside achievement.
- 2024–2025
Learning to teach, too
Eric completed Korean-language teaching coursework through Yonsei University's 45th online teacher-training program. His course work included a reading lesson on making requests and declining politely.
- 2025
Continuing the teacher's role
January correspondence with parents records Eric's first-semester teaching and individual learning reports at the Korean School of the Korean Methodist Church of Detroit.
From dated teaching materials, school records and course correspondence, 2021–2025.
Make room for everyone.
Alongside volunteer teaching, Eric served as an emcee at school sports days, helping bring the community together. His classroom approach also made room for progress and effort, through “Most Improved Player” recognition described in his teaching materials.
Teacher and event-host experience, shared in a personal volunteer capacity.
Finding something to give.
Jihyul’s Korean-school writing gives his interests a voice: a 2023–24 essay about learning table tennis with his mother, and fifth-grade speech drafts about basketball, second chances and bringing joy to others. See his original writing and drawing ↗
His school recognition, awards & interests ↗LEARN TO GIVE · IDEA TO EXPLOREFrom our experience
From our experience
to a shared invitation.
We could share Korean through simple greetings, Hangul, stories and games, while learning about one another's languages and cultures. Eric's teaching experience and Jihyul's perspective as a learner offer a place to begin.
Proposed Korean-language and culture activities, with adult support. Classes are not currently offered.
YOUTH FOUNDER
Jihyul Kim
Grade 7 · Okinawa
Learning, playing & growing together.
WHAT JIHYUL BRINGS
- Community service & journalismVolunteered at the October 31, 2026 kimchi event and interviewed a participant using skills learned in journalism class. Watch the story ↗
- Service & characterNational Junior Honor Society (NJHS) member, inducted in 2026.
- Problem-solving2026 MATHCOUNTS State Competition qualifier, individual category.
- Chess & strategyRepresented Hamilton at the 2025 Michigan Junior High Team Championships; the only individual award recipient on his four-player team. Chess.com member since 2022; 900+ recorded games.
- Table tennisDoubles winner at the Korean Methodist Church of Detroit’s table tennis tournament; the event’s only child participant.
- Academic curiosityAdvanced Academic Program and Services (AAPS), Level III across all core subjects.
- Student leadershipStudent council member since fourth grade, including Iwakuni Middle School in 2025–26.
- School recognitionNovember 2025 Student of the Month at Iwakuni Middle School, selected by peers and teachers.
- Korean language & cultureKorean-school student; fifth-grade Korean speech drafts connected his interests with giving to others. Our Korean-school chapter ↗
- Music & teamworkSchool band flutist, with band experience in Michigan and Japan.
Skills to share. Friends to welcome. Small ways to help.
Youth ideas lead the way. Adults take responsibility for legal, financial and safety decisions.
YOUTH FOUNDER · NONVOTING ADVISORY ROLEFROM THE FAMILY ARCHIVE
Sharing started small.
As a child, Jihyul made a basketball teaching video to share what he was learning. That same spirit of sharing is at the heart of ALL TO GIVE.
FROM THE FAMILY ARCHIVE
Learning at the table.
A family video of Jihyul learning table tennis.
Watch the origin story · 45 seconds
Read the film transcript
Editorial wording based on the family account. This is not a recorded founder interview. The film uses AI-generated still-life concept images and gentle editing, not event footage.