When 13-year-old Nikica Glavurtic lost his brand new basketball shoes, he was devastated. But thanks to the generous support of the Sparwood community, he now has a brand new pair.
Glavurtic and his family moved to the Elk Valley from Kimberley last year. Although they may not be widely known in the area, this didn’t stop locals from donating towards a good cause.
During the summer last year in Sparwood, Glavurtic fell in love with basketball. Through the sport he met his new friend and practice partner, Mack Adams, a member of the senior boys basketball team. Together they practiced on the outdoor court.
Upon showing interest in the sport, Glavurtic’s mother bought him basketball shoes for Christmas. Returning to school in the new year, he accidentally left them on the bus, which was switched and taken in for repairs. Nobody knew where the shoes had gone, and a search began.
After a few days they were presumed gone by Glavurtic and his family. Word spread about Nikica’s loss, and a callout on social media was made to help support the young athlete and keep him on the court.
“I felt it was important to offer to help because I just felt so bad for Nikica,” said fundraising organizer Cora Goulet.
She admitted that joining a team sport isn’t always the easiest thing to do as a kid.
“I admired Nikica for joining a team and wanting to play, and thought if helping to make sure he can get new shoes makes a difference between him playing basketball and not playing, then I will try to offer something towards helping.”
Goulet never anticipated the level of support which would stem off of her request on Facebook; the support came pouring in. As soon as Goulet committed to donating $20, ten others quickly jumped on board, offering between $10 and $40.
“Next thing I knew we had 235 dollars raised,” she said. “I never thought when I offered 20 dollars that the snowball effect would be so large but it was, it brought a lot of people together and even inspired others to pay it forward or do good deeds.
There was enough excess funds to provide a pizza party for his basketball team after their home game, Friday.
When Nikica was presented with his new shoes, he was overjoyed.
“When I lost them, a lot of people thought that was disappointing, so I guess they thought it would be awesome to get me some new shoes so that I could keep playing,” he said. “I was really happy with that.”
Goulet was encouraged by the amount of support garnered by the community.
“It proved to me that even the smallest act can have the biggest impact on many lives,” she said. “It just feels good to know that a random act of kindness can impact so many people.”
During a home game last Friday, Glavurtic scored his first game basket, proudly sporting his new black and red adidas shoes.
