Today we’d like to introduce you to Arelious Cooper, Jr.
Arelious, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am a southwest Atlanta native and a Westlake High School graduate. I have worked in the NBA as well as played and coached in multiple countries including the Dominican Republic, Spain, France, and Taiwan.
I am a former Fulton County Youth Commissioner and the current owner of two developmental basketball franchises, both named the Metro Ballers, of the Women’s United Basketball Association (WUBA) and the United Basketball Association (UBA). My drive doesn’t stop at the basketball court. I make it a point to host basketball clinics for under-served athletes in the countries his team plays, including Australia, Germany, and most recently Lagos, Nigeria.
Much of my off-the-court time has been devoted to empowering young people to develop healthier lifestyles – physically, mentally, and financially. I am the author of Cooper Shapes Up, a children’s book that challenges young people to make better food choices and increase exercise. Throughout my career, I have donated more than 1000 books to children in the US, Ghana, and the Dominican Republic. I also host charity basketball games in the Atlanta metro area such as the annual Turkey Classic, which has fed over 2500 families in the last 4 years.
I am now the Executive Director of Art In The Paint, a non-profit, with a mission to renovate public outdoor basketball courts and install largescale works of art to strengthen communities, promote safety, inspire creativity, and encourage play.
Has it been a smooth road?
Luckily, I haven’t had many obstacles along the way. We have had overwhelming support from pretty much all of the people and organizations we have presented the mission of Art in the Paint. The one thing that every nonprofit consistently needs and has to search for is funding. We have started our first global fundraising campaign at gf.me/u/ykaqn3. We have a vision of renovating outdoor courts around the world, and this campaign will help us to reach those goals.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Art in the Paint story. Tell us more about the organization.
Art in the Paint is a nonprofit organization that specializes in revitalizing outdoor neighborhood basketball courts. We are a perfect mesh between sports, art, and community. Once we clean up a court, we work with a local artist to install a large-scale mural onto the court. This provides the community with a beautiful landscape as a basis for many more things. After installing the art, we partner with other neighborhood organizations to provide access to programmings such as yoga classes, food distribution, and study/literacy groups.
We pride ourselves on being able to reach children of the community that many other larger entities may not have access to. By creating a space in a park that the children of the neighborhood already have access to we are able to bring the programs to them, rather than have to figure out a way to get them to us. We have a larger reach than many organizations, due to the fact that basketball courts are pretty universal and found around the world. We are excited to see how our reach can help us to encourage growth around the world.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Because of technology and the nonprofit industry growing I am excited to see our nonprofit connect and grow with other organizations around the world and become change agents via the path of sports.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.artinthepaint.org
- Phone: 770-374-6588
- Email: artinthepaint@gmail.com
- Instagram: @artinthepaintig
Image Credit:
Artistic Court Design by: @CHOZE_
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