Charlotte’s Own: How a New Website Connects the Hornets, Thompson and the City’s Kids

The Charlotte Hornets have spent years running one of the better youth basketball programs in the region. Thompson has spent 140 years helping children and families in the Carolinas find stable ground.

When the two organizations came together to bring character development programming into the Hornets Hoops camps, they needed a platform to make it work. Thompson brought BRK Global Marketing in to build it, and HornetsHoopsCamp.com is the result.

Two organizations, one shared idea

Hornets Hoops has been a staple of Charlotte summers for years. Boys and girls ages seven to 14 spend Monday through Friday on the court with SafeSport certified coaches, building real basketball skills through drills, games and competition. Coaches, alumni and Hugo the mascot make appearances throughout the week. By any measure, it’s a great week of basketball.

Thompson’s work looks a little different. As a nonprofit providing mental health services, prevention programs and foster care support across multiple states, Thompson has built its entire organization around one idea: that the right support at the right time can change the direction of a child’s life. Their motto is “changing lives changes everything,” and they mean it practically, not just aspirationally.

When the two organizations came together, the goal was to see what happens when you put basketball skills and personal development in the same week.

What makes this camp different

During the day, the experience is everything families have come to expect from Hornets Hoops. Fast-paced, well-coached, competitive and fun. Campers work on fundamentals and play five-on-five in a format designed for all skill levels.

Each evening, Thompson’s programming picks up where the court leaves off. Campers watch a short video and answer a few reflection questions tied to a four-day curriculum that builds on itself throughout the week.

Day one is about Purpose. Campers are asked what makes a good day for them beyond performance, and how they can show that outside of camp during the week. Day two shifts to Habits, asking kids to think about what helps them show up well. Day three is Win the Day, with a focus on how you respond when things get hard. Day four closes the week with Thrive: what is one thing you want to keep doing after camp?

It’s a simple structure, but the progression is real. By the end of the week, a camper hasn’t just worked on their jump shot. They’ve spent four evenings thinking about who they are and what kind of person they want to be. Kids who complete the nightly activities are entered for an award at the end of camp.

The idea that both of those things can happen in the same week, in the same place, is exactly what makes this partnership worth highlighting.

What BRK built

Our team designed and developed HornetsHoopsCamp.com as the platform powering Thompson’s nightly curriculum. Each evening, campers log on to watch their daily video and submit their responses, all through the site. It’s simple by design. The focus stays on the content, not the interface.

Building it meant understanding what Thompson was trying to accomplish with the program and making sure the experience on screen matched that intention. We’re proud it’s part of something that matters to this community.

More than a website build

Charlotte youth programs aren’t hard to find. But programs that combine credible athletic instruction with real character development, delivered by two organizations that have each earned trust in this community over decades, are worth paying attention to.

Getting to support Thompson’s piece of that work and see it land inside a program like Hornets Hoops made this one easy to care about.

To learn more, visit HornetsHoopsCamp.com. To learn more about Thompson’s mission and programs, visit thompsoncff.org. For more on the Hornets Hoops program, visit nba.com/hornets/hornetshoops.