New Yorker Craig Campanella is someone who doesn’t wait around for someone else to fix something—he just gets things done. The Queens resident spends his free time walking through the city’s five boroughs replacing missing or damaged basketball nets, simply because he wants to give back to his community.
Armed with an expandable ladder, a gym bag, wire clippers, and $11 nets, Campanella looks like he’s been hired by the New York City Parks Department, but he’s doing it for free, out of the goodness of his heart. When asked what he sees when he looks at a bare-rimmed basketball hoop he replied, “I see a game that’s less fun. I see that you don’t know if the ball that went in or not if you shoot from long range. And I see a simple thing that can be fixed.”
Campanella has installed more than 60 nets in over 25 parks across New York. Both kids and adults who love to shoot hoops have thanked him for bringing back that satisfying “swoosh” of the ball through the net. While Campanella knows he can’t fix everything in his city, his efforts are proof that one person can make a positive difference to an entire community.
“I’m 56 years old,” he says. “When you get to my age you’re going to want to do things that make people happy. You might do that now. There are more important problems in the world, but this is something I can do that is helpful and I enjoy doing, so it’s how I choose to give back.”
Find out more about Campanella’s admirable efforts in the video below.
New Yorker Craig Campanella spends his free time replacing missing or damaged basketball nets, simply because he wants to give back to his community.
Source: Man makes it his mission to make sure every NYC basketball hoop has a net
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