Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 7-8-22

Local
Too Smooth Presents J. Anthony Brown
And Friends In
‘I Can’t Stop Laughing’
Tampa Club Places Highly In STEAM Competition
BY MONIQUE STAMPS Sentinel Staff Writer
The Services To Youth and Arts Facets of the Tampa Chapter of The Links have been recognized by the Inau- gural Southern Area Lego Challenge with two student winners.
The group chose to work with a group of young ladies in a foster care group home operated by Miracles Out- reach Development Center, Inc.
Although they were not skilled in STEM/STEAM ac- tivities, they were eager to learn and in need of the expe- rience and exposure.
The objective of the Tampa (FL) Chapter was to expose at-risk teen and pre- teen girls to STEM and STEAM design elements and competitions. Additionally, to connect positive self-esteem with goal setting, planning, building, task execution and task completion. The girls will use journaling, cooperative learning, teams and time management for this timed competitive contest.
Links Linking LEGO Art to STEM 2022 competition is being sponsored by The Southern Area Arts Facet and Services to Youth Facet. Grants ranging from $500 to $1500 were given to the chap- ters with the top three final- ists
Miracles Outreach has provided foster care and other services to more than 3,000 youths and families in Florida since 2000. They focus on children who are homeless, have been abused and/or were victims of Human Traf- ficking between the ages of twelve and seventeen.
Casey Curry and Kendra Frorup, Co-Chairs of the Arts Facet, stated: “We conducted several in person sessions and several virtual sessions, focused on a Building Theme. Building self-esteem, building the life you want with SMART Goals and building Legos - a link to robotics and introduction to STEAM as well as STEM ca- reers. The sessions also pro- vided the girls with a presentation from a female engineering perspective. Verneka Rhodes provided
a comprehensive presentation and fielded their questions.”
“Beginning with a room full of girls, we were whit- tled down to two teams in the end. The team that prevailed and with the fastest time be- came our finalists. We are ex- tremely proud of the work we did collaboratively, the growth we saw and the service we rendered. Our two finalists are seniors each won the Southern Area recognition and will receive a monetary award. They also received $200 each from our local chapter.”
Ozepher Wilds, Co- Chair of the Services to Youth
Facet, stated “It was so inspi- rational to see these girls’ work. They are in foster care, but were so enthusiastic and excited about the Lego proj- ect. It was amazing to see them work. They even worked on their project independ- ently and finished early.”
Kia Blythe, also Co-Chair of the Services to Youth Facet, said that the experience was very fulfilling. “We were able to provide the girls with expo- sure and an environment to work in that really allowed them to blossom. They had not been exposed to things like this, so it meant so much to see them be successful.”
Young winners who built the lego creation.
J. ANTHONY BROWN
On Sunday, July 10, 2022,
J. Anthony Brown And Friends will be coming to the Bay Area to bring some laughter.
Too Smooth will be bringing “I Can’t Stop Laugh- ing” at the St. Pete Armory, 3601 38th Ave., So., St. Pe- tersburg. Doors open at 6:30 and the show kicks off at 7:30 p. m.
Comedian Brown, known for his signature say- ing, “watch out there now,” Brown is a member of the all-star cast of Tyler Perry’s ‘Assisted Living.’ On the show, Brown is David Mann’s nemesis, “Grandpa Vinny.”
Brown is often heard on the Steve Harvey Morning Show with his comedic stylings and hilarious cast of on-air characters.
J. Anthony Brown
started his career in Atlanta, GA, after relocating from his hometown of Columbia,
South Carolina. He currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.
A tailor by trade, Brown was inspired to be a clothing designer before putting to- gether his comedy routine for comedy clubs in South Car- olina. He entered a local ‘gong show’ contest in a nightclub called, “Mr. V’s Fig- ure Eight. He was invited back to host on a regular basis and became a perma- nent part of the entertain- ment.
A member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., Brown is the owner of the J. Anthony Brown Collection Store, has his own line of hot sauce products that carry his name, and the J Spot Com- edy Club in Los Angeles.
For tickets to see J. An- thony Brown and Friends, visit Eventbrite.com, www.toos- moothpromotions.com, or call Too Smooth at (813) 244-7474.
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