Rooting for the underdogs
Scott Demorest

Scott Demorest knows that rooting for underdogs isn’t always enough. Sometimes you have to sweat it out with them on the court, which is why he suited up in a big way for Self Enhancement, Inc.

SEI began as an after-school basketball camp for kids 25 years ago, and it has matured into one of the country’s premier youth development organizations, finding endless ways to help inner-city young people deemed “at risk.” These underdogs are given the kind of team support needed to become champions in life: after-school programs, homework tutoring and a charter school, to name a few. SEI stays with these kids from the second grade until they become young adults, providing unwavering and reliable support along the way.

Scott stepped on the court as chair of the organization’s first-time “Here + Now” fundraising event in 2006. SEI’s commitment to the growth and health of these kids over the long haul is the key to their success — getting in early and sticking with them for the duration. With that aim, Scott’s fundraising efforts for this inaugural event were directed at broadening SEI’s donor base by targeting Portland’s emerging young philanthropists. He found them. “Here + Now” brought in more than 400 new faces and more than $200K (most first-time fundraisers settle for breaking even). In no way fair-weather fans of SEI, Scott and the ACME team will be out on the court with them this year, and hopefully many years to come.

For more about the amazing things SEI does: selfenhancement.org

• Albertina Kerr Centers
• Camp Sunrise
• American Red Cross
• Oregon Service Corps
• Self Enhancement, Inc.
• Multiple Sclerosis Society