The Center

Springtime at the Center

Melton Center June 10, 2021 0

Exciting things are heating up this month! We said goodbye to our school year and hello to new opportunities and basketball.

Our garden is starting to shape up beautifully. On Juneteenth, we will have a packed schedule of festivities.

We hope to see you at the Center soon!

6/8 New Directions Year End Party

We celebrated our last day of New Directions for the school year yesterday, and it was so special to all be together at the Center in person. We asked the kids and coaches what made them proud from working together this year, and here are some of their answers:

“We learned about empowerment and social justice.”
“My coaches helped me with math when I didn’t understand.”
“I became a stronger reader.”
“We had fun together.”
We could not be more proud of our bright and amazing students, their families, and our incredible teachers and volunteers. Their resilience, dedication, and love for one another made this unprecedented school year so special and one to celebrate!

6/6 Basketball Kickoff

What makes the Melton Center league so special? Our games go beyond basketball. Every Sunday is a community gathering.

Thank you to Comfy Corner for providing FREE drinks, snacks and personal care items, and to TJ Butcher for providing FREE burgers and hot dogs behalf of the Care to Share Initiative. Special thanks to DJ Endeavor for providing the music and announcements.

We are glad to be back after a year off due to Covid 19. No one complained about the extreme heat, players were glad to be out there playing again. The Melton Center Summer League is dedicated to Patrick PK Kelly. We’d like to thank our sponsors, coaches, and volunteers for supporting our season!

Children's Garden

Our garden is growing, and so are our little gardeners!

Thank you to our many amazing partners and volunteers – West Chester Green Team, The Greater West Chester Sunrise Rotary Club, W.C. East High School Football, Coach Keith Cochran and his K-Low Elite AAU Team, the YMWIC Foundation, Inc., and countless others – for helping to bring this project to life.

5/26 Year-end M.O.B.B.Y. Celebration

We wrapped up our first full school year with our M.O.B.B.Y. program (Mentoring Our Black and Brown Youth).

Our guest speaker was Omar Saunders who spoke to the young men about career choices and financial literacy. Omar is the Head of Investment Grade corporate research for the Vanguard Group. Omar was the starting point guard for William Penn High and Columbia University in the 90’s.

We also had pizza and ended the night with a trip to the Sixers game! We’d like to thank all of our speakers, volunteers, and attendees

Illuminating Rustin Production

Chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington and openly gay Civil Rights activist, Bayard Rustin was nearly written out of the history books. Last week, People’s Light put a spotlight on this “angelic troublemaker” with a top-notch performance written by Steve H. Broadnax III.

It was followed with a thought-provoking discussion with People’s Light Resident Dramaturg Gina Pisasale, Ken Winston, Ms. Penny Washington, Kyle Boyer, and Lisa Dorsey, designed to spark dialogue around community activism in light of Rustin’s legacy. We would like to thank everyone involved in this production, and look forward to seeing the full show next year!