On Saturday August 15th, Save Our Streets held the fifth annual “Lead by Example Basketball Tournament”. The event took place at St. Johns Park in Crown Heights, where over 100 young people came out to support, play ball and have fun. Summer Youth Employment Program interns assisted staff in the set up and activities of the day and S.O.S. was also joined by neighboring anti-violence programs from Flatbush and Brownsville.
The purpose of Lead By Example is to promote positivity among the young people of the neighborhood and to encourage everyone to “shoot hoops not guns.” Throughout the event S.O.S. passed out towels, water bottles, and palm cards to spread the anti-violence message and encourage the community to get involved.
There were 3 basketball games, followed by a championship game. The first match was co-ed with young men and women from the neighborhood showing their skills. The second game featured two other Cure Violence sites: Gangstas Making Astronomical Community Changes (G.M.A.C.C.) and Brownsville In Violence Out. The third game was a stand off between S.O.S. Crown Heights and S.O.S. Bed-Stuy. The championship game saw S.O.S. Bed-Stuy re matched with Brownsville In Violence Out and finally at the close of the day, S.O.S. Bed-Stuy walked away with the championship title after scoring the game winning three pointer in over time, at the buzzer.
In between the ball games, there were half-time contests and crowd members had a chance to win gift certificates and donated items from Nine Sports and Doughnut Plant. The event also included music by the world famous Disco B and food from BJ’s. Additionally, community members were able to receive information and resources from tablers at the event including Neo-Empowerment, Launch Expeditionary Charter School, and Medgar Evers College Beta Academy program.
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