Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 11-15-19

Local
Grant Awarded To Skills Center Will Help Enhance Girls’ Participation In Sports
Rev. Dr. A. Leon Lowry
BY MONIQUE STAMPS Sentinel Feature Writer
With the success of the USA women’s soccer and basketball teams, there has been a growing effort to bring more girls into sports. In Tampa, the Skills Center is making significant strides in that area.
The Skills Center is a non-profit organization whose full focus is on creat- ing academic and leadership success through the power of sports.
On September 30, 2019, the Skills Center was one of eighteen programs nation- ally to receive a Youth En- gagement in Sports (YES Initiative) research grant
CELESTE ROBERTS
from the Department of Health and Human Services. The purpose of the grant is to increase youth partici- pation in sports and reduce barriers to participation. “The YES Initiative intends to identify characteristics of effective collaborations that improve physical activity and
nutrition via increased sports participation.” The grant runs for two years.
Mrs. Celeste Roberts, one of the founders of the Skills Center, states that the grant will be used to assist the Skills Center in creating a girls sports initiative with four aspects - health and nu- trition, social and emotional learning, physical activity and sports.
Mrs. Roberts led the Women for Girls in Sports Coalition leadership event on Tuesday. The Coalition was created to get women in the community involved to sup- port the Y. E. S. grant effort. The emphasis of the group is mentorship, fundraising, corporate sponsorship and maintaining the effort for the next two years and beyond.
After the two-year grant ends, the Skills Center aims to have a program to help minority and underserved girls get and stay involved in sports. The program will cre- ate an infrastructure to elim- inate barriers such as cost and transportation.
“Our goal is to educate guests on ways to resource- fully and/or financially con- tribute to The Skills Center’s efforts to increase participa- tion in physical activity among 6th grade socio-eco- nomically disadvantaged mi- nority girls.”
An invitation is extended to the community to come hear about the life of Rev. Dr. A. Leon Lowry, Sr., “A Champion For Change,” whose leadership and courage inspired him to do many great things.
The event will be held on Monday, November 18, 2019, 6 p. m., at the Robert W. Saunders, Sr. Public Library, 1505 N. Nebraska Ave.
Rev. Dr. Lowry, Sr.,
was one of Tampa’s leading civil rights activists in the 1950s and 1960s. He led peaceful demonstrations in Tampa and beyond, leading young people, that helped bring about positive change.
In addition to being a longtime pastor of Beulah Baptist Institutional Church, Rev. Lowry became the first
REV. DR. A. LEON LOWRY, SR.
African-American in Tampa to be elected to the Hillsbor- ough County School Board. He served on many boards in the Tampa community.
This event is funded by the Ada T. Payne Friends of the Urban Libraries. ‘Champions for Change’ illustration by Princess Smith, on display at the Saunders Library.
Recognized As ‘A
Champion For Change’
Bles’d Productions Presents Fall Play, ‘Conspiracy Theories Going Gospel’
Have you ever wondered whether the conspiracies you’ve heard may have some validity? Have you ever thought that celebrities and media figures may be leaving hidden messages within their content?
In this year’s annual gospel play, writer, producer, Dr. Phyllis Tucker-Wicks challenges you to think deeply about why Tupac changed his name to Makaveli, and why Michael Jackson said, “They don’t really care about us!”
In Conspiracy Theories Going Gospel, the angel of Truth has reversed the lies the demon Liar has spread, awakening the humans to the contracts Lucifer had them sign. However, Liar has found Lucifer’s secret record books in the underground and in- tends to use them to deflect the work Truth has done to confuse the spirits of Fear, Lust and Hate.
Conspiracy Theories Going Gospel tackles those pervading questions we have had about the Illuminati, Se- cret-Societies and Rituals while bringing us right back
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Come and enjoy an amaz- ing night in the Inkwell Cen- tre with Bles’d Productions, 2905 50th Street, at 6:30PM on Saturday, November 30, 2019.
The cast will bring you the “Word” while making it un- derstood in our modern con- texts. With performances by Ms. Adria Johnson, who will belt out the gospel music like you’ve have never heard, Jeremiah Bles’d Wicks, bringing his rendition of the sounds of R Kelly, Marvin Gaye, Prince, and more, Jerminique Canon, as the temptress Lust, Dr. P Tucker-Johnson as Lu- cifer, and many more, you don’t want to miss this spec- tacular experience with Con- spiracy Theories Going Gospel. It’ll make you think twice about your favorite celebrities.
For more information, call (813) 948-0005. (See ad- vertisement in this issue)
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2019