PeacePlayers 2023 Impact Report 5 18 (5) - Flipbook - Page 53
— PEACEPLAYERS ANNUAL IMPACT REPORT —
WHAT’S THE PURPOSE OF PEACEPLAYERS IN THE COMMUNITIES WHERE YOU WORK?
Onyeka: So, Baltimore is unique in that the city has been historically divided. There’s what they call
the Black Butterfly and the White L. So you have two sides of the city that have been disinvested
in and people are experiencing hardship and socioeconomic disadvantage. But culturally, people
have similar experiences, whether they live on the East Side or the West Side. And then you
have the White L, which breaks up that Black Butterfly. That’s where you have investments and
opportunities and things like that. So with PeacePlayers Baltimore, we bring [the East Side and the
West Side] together. It works because they know that they’re all PeacePlayers at the end of the day.
Alesha: PeacePlayers breaks down community barriers, puts
kids on a basketball court, and uses the game to really bridge
the divides that are in those communities. In Brooklyn, we got
our start in Brownsville, but now have ventured into other
y
la
e
rs
B
ro
o
k
ly
Beyond bridging divides, another focus of our
P
communities together.
ce
transformational impact that sport can have on bringing
ea
a, P
violence, etc) are ever present, we have seen first hand the
sh
York, and Canarsie. Though the divides (gun and gang
le
faces… so, Crown Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant, East New
A
neighborhoods that deal with similar issues that Brownsville
n
cto
r
is how access to free, expert led basketball
i re
an issue that’s not really spoken about enough
D
work is creating equitable opportunities. I think
programming is hard to come across in this
pay-to-play model in New York City. To get
access to great basketball instruction and
opportunity, you oftentimes have to have
money. PeacePlayers is breaking down that
barrier and providing real access to free
sports development coaches who understand
the importance of the holistic development
of young people, but also are really skilled
and understand how to incorporate the
basketball and life skill pieces together.
Often, kids may
come into our
program knowing
no one, but having
joined us,
THEY ARE NOT
ONLY MEMBERS
OF A YOUTH
MOVEMENT BUT
MEMBERS OF A
TRUE FAMILY.”
-Alesha
PAGE 53
