San Miguel has joined Tix4Cause.com!

Tix4Cause is a ticket exchange website founded on an innovative yet simple concept-ticketholders sell their unwanted tickets, and can donate 100% of the proceeds to our cause.

Tix4Cause is a novel way to donate, where:

Ticketholders turn their unwanted seats over to San Miguel, and qualify for a tax deduction.

Ticket purchasers choose from these great seats, and receive reasonable pricing (tickets are offered at fair market prices).

100% of ticket proceeds are given to San Miguel.

The success of our partnership with Tix4Cause depends on all of us. Consider supporting San Miguel by donating your unwanted sporting, theater, or music event tickets.

Don't let a single ticket go to waste-instead, place them for sale on Tix4Cause!  We would  also appreciate you making Tix4Cause.com one of your preferred sites to search for some of the best seats in town! With this partnership, San Miguel is able to take advantage of a cost-efficient, low maintenance solution to turn non-monetary donations into dollars.

About Tix4Cause.com:
Tix4Cause.com was founded in 2009 when Kevin Nemetz, CEO, was inspired to turn empty event seats into something “good.”  The website was born of a simple, yet innovative concept—to connect donors, charities, and interested buyers of entertainment tickets, and give 100% of the proceeds to a worthy cause. Tix4Cause currently services a variety of organizations, as well as missions, and is open to including all qualifying charities.

For more information on Tix4Cause, visit www.tix4cause.com.

Download the Tix4Cause brochure.

Austin's b'ball champs honored
Harlem Globetrotter helps San Miguel school celebrate victory

Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Read this article on the Austin Weekly website

A former member of the famed Harlem Globetrotters visited an Austin School last week to help honor its athletic team and newly-crowned basketball champs (They've got next: Left, the San Miguel Warriors boys basketball team, the 2010 West Side Catholic Baskeball League Champions.  Photos by NICHOLAS MORONI/Contributor).

Austin's San Miguel School-Gary Comer Campus' boy's basketball team won the West Side Catholic Basketball League championship last week. On Thursday, they received a visit from Harlem Globetrotter Curley "Boo" Johnson, who helped celebrate their victory while also offering the kids advice on how to succeed off the court.

Hard work, determination and relentlessness were the central topics of the former basketball player and showman. To drive each characteristic home, Johnson pointed to his own life and that of his father, Curley Johnson Sr. - also a former Globetrotter and Boo's mentor throughout much of his life.

"Every time someone told me I couldn't do something, I did it," Johnson said. "If you don't believe in yourself, no one else will."

Johnson told the sixth, seventh and eighth graders about his father's quest to play professionally for the Detroit Pistons, a dream that was never fulfilled because of "an unwritten two-black ballplayers per team rule," that he claimed existed at the time. As a result, Curley Sr. joined the Globetrotters, playing for them in the 1960s and '70s. As for himself, Johnson explained how hard he practiced to improve a less-than-accurate jump shot. He eventually honed that skill, which helped him earn scholarships to Spoon River College in Canton, Ill. and later to Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, where he graduated from. It was there that he excelled athletically, academically and socially.

"I was All-American [at Spoon River], I was part of the student government, and I had three girlfriends, although I lost all three of them in a three-day weekend," Johnson joked, followed by raucous laughter (At right: Former Harlem Globetrotter Curley Boo Johnson talking to students.  Photos by NICHOLAS MORONI/Contributor).

Although his largely motivational speech contained tidbits of humor, it mainly stressed the importance of education and averting street life.

"This basketball paid for my education and the Globetrotters found me in school, not in a gang and not in jail," he said.

Nearing the end of his address, students were visibly nervous that he might not dazzle them with some of the tricks he made famous with the Globetrotters. But Johnson
didn't leave without a little razzle-dazzle.

Before the exercise, Johnson paid homage to the Warriors' 11-0 season and championship victory over the Providence-St. Mel Knights by announcing the achievement. He then invited them to partake in the exercise. Johnson's fast-paced dribbling tricks showed off his ball-handling feats, completed with multiple basketballs.

"OOOOHHHH's!" and "AAAAHHHH's!" filled the auditorium along with cheers from the ball players he invited to mid-court for the drill. Johnson began by tossing the ball between three or four students, and then performed a few ball-handling tricks as a distraction: an attempt to test their attentiveness once he threw the ball their way. He later alluded to the fact that the exercise was a metaphor for readiness and preparation in life.

Johnson struck a chord with kids, who were hanging onto his every word. "I thought the kids enjoyed it. It's good for them to see an African-American, someone that looks like them, with a positive message," said Principal Caprice Smalley.

As for their championship season, player Mike Clark, 13, an eighth-grader said: "It was a hard season, but we pulled through. [Coach] pushes you to work really hard."

"It was nice to finally win - we been playin' together since fifth grade," added Raekwon Boyles, 14, also in eighth grade, noting that many of the boys played ball together in their elementary schools.

Austin's San Miguel campus, 819 N. Leamington, boasts an 88-percent high school graduation rate for its alumni. Boy's basketball skipper and Austin resident, Eric Berger, who has coached the team for seven years, believes the school's discipline and positive outlet - such as basketball - provide the kids with structure to steer them from trouble.

"Every year you get them involved when you show them you're concerned," he said. "There are kids who want to go out on the street, but once they're a part of something positive, they stay."


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Dustin Johnston, a professional photographer and videographer working in Chicago, has volunteered with San Miguel on various occasions and in diverse capacities.  He has volunteered his time and talents to take professional marketing photos of our students as well as event photography ranging from school and donor activities, to our annual fundraiser, School of Rock.  He has assisted with creating videos, media and technology consulting, and even served as a substitute teacher at the Gary Comer Campus.

While his work ranges from architectural photography, to unique wedding and engagement videos, he seeks out opportunities to work with non-profit organizations including the Tsunami Volunteer Center in Khaolak, Thailand, DoSomething.org, the Case Foundation, 826 Valencia, and now San Miguel Schools Chicago.  His complete portfolio can be found on www.dustinthomasjohnston.com.

Dustin is from Brighton, MI and graduated from the University of Michigan in 2003 with a degree in English.  After graduation, Dustin moved to Thailand shortly after the tsunami and worked as a volunteer cleaning up the beaches of Ko Phi Phi, rebuilding villages in Khao Lak, and eventually teaching 4th and 5th grade English in a local school.  He later received his TEFL certificate and taught high school English in a province in the Northeast.

While abroad, Dustin traveled throughout Asia, Europe, then across the Trans-Siberian Railroad to the Middle East over the course of a year.  "Since I was traveling around alone for most of the time, the camera was my way to share my experiences with family and friends," says Dustin.

Dustin returned to the states and found himself in New York City where he began his professional career as a photographer and videographer.  His first projects were making college commercials, but soon was doing architectural photography, travel shows, event videos, engagement photography and wedding photography.

After two years of living in New York, Dustin moved to Chicago and has found his business to be growing quickly, now increasing his portfolio to include family photos, corporate videos, and product photography.

"Photography and video is a passion of mine, so I end up spending most of my free time with camera in hand, always thinking of my next project."

Mr. Curley "Boo" Johnson, world famous Harlem Globetrotter (1988-2006), visited San Miguel Schools Gary Comer Campus on February 2 in celebration of the West Side Catholic basketball league Championship basketball game last week.  The Gary Comer 7th and 8th grade boys' basketball team defeated Providence-St. Mel with a score of 52-48.

Mr. Johnson spoke to the students about his life journey that would eventually lead him to be known as the "The World's Fastest Dribbler."  Mr. Johnson spoke of his days of constantly practicing in the gym, telling students that "success occurs when preparation meets opportunity."  His hard work and belief in himself allowed him to be where he is today.  "The Harlem Globetrotters didn't find me in a gang, they didn't find me in jail, they didn't find me in the streets.  I am a Harlem Globetrotter because I worked hard in school and on the basketball court." 

Gary Comer students were wowed as Mr. Johnson performed some ball handling tricks that made him famous, bringing three students from the Championship basketball team and one of the 6th grade teachers from the audience to help. 

CBS 2 News brought their lead sports anchor, Ryan Baker, to cover the story and you can watch it here.

A native of Peoria, IL and 1982 graduate of Peoria High School, Johnson played for 17 seasons, from 1988-2006, for the internationally renowned Harlem Globetrotters. Performing on all seven continents and 77 different countries, Johnson inherited the role of dribbling wizard made famous by Marques Haynes and became known as "The World's Fastest Dribbler."  He attended Spoon River Community College and graduated from Loras College, where in 1999 he became the first alumnus to have his uniform number retired.

Check out all the photos from the event on our Flickr page!

Curly "Boo" Johnson retired from the Harlem Globetrotters in 2007 but still has the moves.  Johnson showcased his skills at the San Miguel School's Gary Comer Campus and delivered his powerful, personal story.

Click the here to watch the video on the CBS 2 News website.