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WHAT:
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Parramore Kidz Zone’s Blacktop Basketball League is
commemorating the end of its first season with a championship game on
Thursday, October 23, 2008. The Blacktop Basketball League was created
as part of Parramore Kidz Zone’s mission to engage at-risk youth in
positive activities outside of school hours. The City’s Youth
Intervention Coordinator, Stanley Cromartie, coaches the teams and
offers encouragement and guidance for the youth of Parramore.
“This program is just one of the ways PKZ has
succeeded in getting kids off the streets, keeping them from getting
into trouble and busy with positive activities,” says Cromartie.
The Blacktop Basketball League is comprised of six
teams with three from the Parramore neighborhood. Awards will be
presented to the top two winning teams. The game will take place at 6
p.m. at the John H. Jackson Community Center and be followed by an
awards ceremony and barbecue at 7 p.m.
Modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone, Parramore
Kidz Zone launched by Mayor Dyer in 2006, employs creative outreach to
engage a critical mass of Parramore’s children and linking them to
positive opportunities, including pre-kindergarten education, parenting
education, health care, mentoring, tutoring, and constructive activities
when school is out.
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