Team Buddy Buckets is a public charity non-profit organization that brings opportunities to underserved student-athletes in our communities. Through enhanced educational and personal growth opportunities, our student-athletes gain the tools needed to become successful difference-makers in their communities. 

Our Purpose is a reflection of the childhood story of former Oklahoma Sooner, Buddy Hield. Hield comes from a community in The Bahamas that struggles with the hardships of poverty to this day. Hield and his seven siblings grew up in a single-parent household where they all shared a queen-sized mattress and rarely had hot water in their household. Hield has a story fueled by hard work and dedication that has led him to a successful career through the University of Oklahoma and onto a professional career in the NBA where he currently plays for the Indiana Pacers. Daniel Harper was a former Oklahoma Sooners teammate who played alongside Hield in their time together in Norman, Oklahoma. President of Team Buddy Buckets, Gary Harper, is the father of Daniel Harper and created this foundation after hearing about the journey that Hield has gone through and realizing that student-athletes in his community are facing similar struggles which would greatly relate to Hield’s story. Harper wanted to do more than become a bystander as young athletes miss opportunities that could change the trajectory of their entire lives. That being said, Harper decided to create a foundation with the partnership of Buddy Hield in hopes of helping as many young athletes by serving them and providing them with the tools and lessons to create a successful future for themselves.