After 30 Years, The Rising Stars Alumni, Friends, and Families Remain Larger Than Life

Over the past 30 years, Rising Stars has developed an incredible resource that sustains its growth and powers its journey into the future.

For Rising Stars founder Paul Savramis, that journey has highlighted as much meaning for him in what has been built off the basketball court as it has on it.

Paul Savramis always points out that the foundation of Rising Stars is the people behind it, and that includes its board, executive director, national ambassador, and alumni.

“I have spoken about how much Rising Stars relies on its alumni for everything it does day to day,” says Paul Savramis.

“What is just as important for me to emphasize is the friendships that go along with it and that Rising Stars has helped build.”

Those friendships, Paul Savramis goes on to describe, have grown to a degree where there isn’t any area of Rising Stars that doesn’t include a former Rising Star.

“Thirty years is a long time,” Paul Savramis will say when pressed on what this anniversary year means, but he always adds that time has developed a network beyond anything he could have imagined.

New Year Brings New Programs And the 30th Anniversary of The Rising Stars Foundation

The New Year brought a great deal of excitement for Rising Stars founder Paul Savramis.

First and foremost for Paul Savramis was that 2026 marked the beginning of the 30th anniversary of the Rising Stars Youth Foundation.

“I can’t believe that it’s been 30 years,” said Paul Savramis. “Looking back, there are so many milestones I can’t begin to list them here.”

For Paul Savramis, looking back has always been an exercise that helps him look ahead.

“I have seen so many good things happen over the past 30 years, but probably the most meaningful has been the core of leadership that’s grown with me and has become the best part of Rising Stars,” added Paul Savramis.

December Heralds a Spirit of Giving at Rising Stars

The Rising Stars calendar is a full one, with every month showcasing events the foundation offers.

Annual staples include fall and spring tryouts for the winter and summer basketball seasons, along with Rising Stars’ own March Madness, which helps determine the future of its senior class.

Sprinkled throughout the year are clinics, showcase tournaments, and its newest addition, Little Stars, which offers an introduction to basketball for girls and boys in grades pre-K through third.

But it is in December that Rising Stars rallies to bring every family together and demonstrates what the foundation’s meaning and purpose are truly about.

Rising Stars: Michael O’Connell Keeps the Dream Alive

After 30 years at the helm of the Rising Stars Youth Foundation, founder Paul Savramis is never at a loss when asked what areas stand out most to him.

Today, he focused on how being part of a team and having opportunities to learn through sports helps individuals grow. It allows young people to set goals, focus on achieving those goals, and most of all, to have a dream.

Savramis himself has seen dreams become reality, not only for the boys and girls in Rising Stars, but also for himself in building the Rising Stars Athletic Complex. This interview focused on one special Rising Stars dreamer and how the dreams he set early in life continue today.

October 2025 Heralds the Return of the Rising Stars "Little Stars"!

One of Rising Stars' most popular and certainly most endearing yearly programs is the K–3rd grade Little Stars. Talking to Rising Stars Founder Paul Savramis, we asked about how this program began for Rising Stars and why it's one of his favorites.

Q: We see that your Little Stars program starts up again this fall. Why is this program so special?

Paul Savramis: Little Stars is special because it has a great backstory, and that story has a personal meaning for me. Little Stars came about from a program that was started by a great friend and former President 30 years ago, Mr. Jim Davis. It's also a program that I never understood until Jim made me a believer.

Q: Tell us a bit about Mr. Davis, how you met, and why you needed to become a believer in the idea of a Little Stars program.

Jim Davis

Paul Savramis: To start, you need to know that Jim was, and is, a part of NYC history. Jim started that history as a basketball player on the 1952 St. John's National Championship team versus Kansas that also featured a young Dean Smith.

Q: That's some history right there.

Paul Savramis: That's just the beginning. Although St. John's lost that final game, they upset powerhouse Kentucky, the team favored to win, to get there. 1952 remains a legacy year for St. John's. Jim then went on to play for the NBA's Charlotte Royals and continued his career and legend as one of the most decorated homicide detectives in NYC.

Executive Director Dan Gimpel and the Rising Stars Mission

It's been a busy summer for Rising Stars Executive Director Dan Gimpel, and the fall has been even busier.

As the Rising Stars Youth Foundation turns 30 this year, the responsibilities of keeping the program's mission Paul Savramis put together in 1996 continues to be Gimpel's top priority.

Gimpel was a Rising Star himself growing up in Queens, NY, and he played for Paul Savramis throughout high school, so his story is part of Rising Stars’ history. It's one story that he won't ever forget.

As Gimpel explains it, "I really wouldn't be where I am today if Paul Savramis hadn't given me the chance to be a part of Rising Stars. I lived the Rising Stars mission, and I have seen it work for a great many others like me."

Gimpel took on the duties of Executive Director in 2002. He joined Paul Savramis, Jay and Althea Williams, and a team of educators that worked with his coaches in providing the same opportunities that student-athletes need to succeed today that he was given.

Rising Stars Brings Back a Cornerstone Event

August 2025 heralds the return of a Rising Stars cornerstone event. On August 25, Rising Stars will bring back one of the foundation's most popular and enduring events, a cornerstone for 30 years: the end-of-summer four-day camp. This event has not been a part of the Rising Stars calendar since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

We asked Rising Stars founder Paul Savramis about the long hiatus and why this event is so special.

Q: We see on the website and in your newsletters that you're bringing back the end-of-summer camp. Why now, and why have you waited so long?

Paul Savramis: COVID-19 was a terrible time for everyone and very hard for children. It made all activities a challenge even after full restrictions were lifted. It was especially challenging not having a facility of our own and having to navigate around restrictions set by various other sites.