Through hoops and every-day life, Mercer Island’s Northwest Yeshiva High School (NYHS) continues to keep the memory and vitality of Ari Grashin alive.

Grashin, who was known to be passionate about basketball and helping others, passed away in 2002 at the age of 16 after a courageous battle with brain cancer.

“His positive attitude, dedication to others, and fierce spirit made him a beloved figure among his peers and teachers and inspired thousands of people around the world,” reads a school press release. Grashin, who lived in Seward Park, attended NYHS and starred for the school’s basketball squad and in the classroom.

From 1-3 p.m. on March 23, the school will celebrate the life and legacy of Grashin by tipping off the 2025 Ari Grashin Memorial Tournament at Seattle Hebrew Academy, 1617 Interlaken Drive E., Seattle.

At the Ari Grashin Memorial Gym, there will be games featuring varsity versus alumni, girls versus alumni and junior varsity versus their dads. The free event will also feature fan giveaways, music, mascots, concessions and powerful tributes to Grashin. Donations toward NYHS athletics and the Ari Fund will be accepted.

Students and staff are reminded of Grashin each day when they stroll by or sit on a prominently placed bench in the school’s courtyard that reads: “Dedicated In Loving Memory of Ari Grashin. We’ll Never Forget You #42.”

“It’s in a place of remembrance between a couple of trees with our logo behind it,” said Joe Krissoff, director of operations and memorial coordinator.

In addition to the tournament, NYHS will hold a Week of Ari leading up to the event that will feature guests speaking about Grashin and the importance of community involvement that he was so focused upon.

“The more we talk to the community, the more we find out how impactful (he) was and how that resonates in the community, even today — many, many years after his passing,” said Krissoff, adding that NYHS is also presenting an assembly for elementary school students at Seattle Hebrew Academy on March 21 to promote community. The school’s Lion mascot will lead the charge at that gathering.

Grashin’s dad David and mother Debbie will attend the tournament along with his brother Josh and one of the family’s nephews, Asher Young from Mercer Island. Josh will participate in the tourney and David said he will don a basketball uniform and maybe take a few shots. David and Debbie will also be present during a few days of the Week of Ari.

“It’s an incredible tribute, obviously. There’s nothing that my wife and I enjoy more than keeping his memory alive,” David said. “I’m always amazed that like 22, 23 years later, they’re still doing this, and people still contact us. I think it’s great. One of the things that Ari would really appreciate is that it’s a physical and a spiritual tribute.”

David said the basketball tourney is cool, but it’s crucial for the NYHS students to learn how special every day is on their life journey.

Former NYHS student and current principal at the school, Deirdre Schreiber, was one of Grashin’s classmates and said that he was a beautiful soul and she feels blessed to have grown up with him. Grashin had an impact on her as a youth and many others along the way, she said.

“Ari treated everyone as a human being worthy of respect and looked for opportunities to build people up and create community,” she said. “For me as a high school freshman, when insecurities run rampant, Ari — whether consciously or from a deeper subconscious intuition I will never know — made me feel proud and confident in aspects of myself that had previously been sources of doubt and self-consciousness.”

NYHS athletic director and varsity boys basketball coach Steve Bunin has been a special person in the Grashins’ lives for copious years, David said. Bunin spent time with the youth nearly every day following his diagnosis, reading to him and watching SportsCenter, Mariners games and movies.

“I tried to just be an uplifting presence in his life,” said Bunin, a 1992 Mercer Island High School graduate. “It was just a transformative experience for me. My first time sort of in this world where these kids are all at his house all the time. And every Sabbath on Friday night and Saturday, there’s 20 to 40 kids there, either praying or eating or whatever.”

Bunin and Grashin attended the 2002 Super Bowl together after receiving tickets from a charity. David gave Bunin the go-ahead to take in the game with his son, which still stirs Bunin’s emotions to this day. Bunin said it will be a powerful moment to have David — one of his mentors — attend the memorial tournament.

Over the years, there have been between 10-15 tournaments to honor Grashin, said Bunin, who met David and Ari at hoops games at the Mercer Island Stroum Jewish Community Center. When Grashin played on varsity at NYHS, Bunin was the junior varsity coach and helped coach the varsity squad.

“He was a super kid. He was well-rounded. Although he was a star athlete, he was the kind of boy who would seek out the underdog (to befriend). That’s pretty rare in my experience as a long-time high school coach and mentor of high school kids,” Bunin said.

Bunin said that people all over the world prayed for Grashin as he fought cancer as word spread amongst Jewish schools. Grashin’s story inspired people then and still does today.

“That’s one thing we like about this tournament is it helps reinvigorate his memory to these kids who weren’t born at that time,” Bunin said. “Now they can learn about him and hopefully take some of those qualities with them as they grow up.”

For more information or to donate to the Ari Fund, visit www.nyhs.org.

Ari Grashin in 2001. Courtesy photo

Ari Grashin memorial bench. Courtesy photo