NEAR WEST SIDE — Southwest Side students played video games, ate pizza and met their favorite Chicago Bulls players Thursday as part of the team’s celebration of annual giving for the holidays.

Students from Galileo Scholastic Academy visited the team for a day of basketball, video games and holiday fun. The event is one of several in the Bulls’ Season of Giving campaign, which includes 20 events throughout the South and West sides and in the Loop. These efforts have impacted more than 1,300 young people in years past, as the team said they are looking to grow community developments on the West Side alongside The 1901 Project.

Thursday’s event brought 15 boy and girl basketball players from Galileo in Little Italy to the United Center. Students started the day with an exclusive sit-in on a team practice at The Advocate Center training facility across the street before Bulls players joined the students for video games. Students and players set up in the United Center’s atrium for matches of NBA 2K26.

Teams of Galileo students and Bulls players faced off against each other in competition for bragging rights. All students received gifts, including gaming equipment and team gear.

Bulls stars including Coby White, Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis rotated teams with Galileo students who never dreamed of meeting NBA players, one student said.

“My heart dropped. … Every time I was around NBA players, I just got excited even more,” said Amarius Wash, an eighth-grader at Galileo. “The opportunity [means] staying here and having fun with the players. Just have fun and be with your friends.”

Like many of his classmates, Wash is a big fan of NBA 2K games and never imagined that he would meet Bulls players. Wearing a freshly autographed Josh Giddey jersey, Wash said the experience made him more emboldened in his dream of making it to the NBA. He plays a wing position for Galileo, he said.

Katie Shoemaker, a counselor at Galileo, said her students couldn’t have been more excited for the opportunity.

“To see [the team] really puts a human aspect to it,” Shoemaker said. “They are superstars, but they’re also regular humans who play their PlayStations.”

Students from Galileo Scholastic Academy visited the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Thursday for a day of basketball, video games and holiday fun. Credit: Michael Liptrot/Block Club Chicago

Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu grew up in Bronzeville and met with kids Thursday. Spending time with them reminded him of his motivation to play in the NBA, he said.

“I looked up to the Bulls, the United Center, because that was my home team,” Dosunmu said. “So just being here, casually coming in on a Thursday to interact with kids means a lot to me. The community is what it’s all about.”

Last year, the Bulls’ Season of Giving campaign benefited more than 1,300 young people and saw the team partner with 34 community groups, according to a Bulls annual impact report. This year, the team is on track to exceed last year’s totals. Regardless of the numbers, the Bulls said their growing impact reflects a continued dedication to community, particularly on the West Side.

“The West Side, it’s our home, it’s where we’ve always been and want to make sure that we’re taking care of them,” said Adrienne Scherenzel, Bulls vice president of community engagement. “The new construction project happening here, The 1901 Project, we feel like it’s an opportunity to really spur development going further west.”

For more information, visit the Bulls community website.

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