A few weeks ago, I wrote about a partnership that this blog and others have formed with DC SCORES, a great local nonprofit that provides after school programs for kids with poetry and soccer.
Their season (both poetry and soccer) is underway, and their culminating event, the Poetry Slam, is in less than a month, Dec. 2 and Dec. 3.
The event highlights kids from around the city, who perform their own original poems — it’s a celebration of their hard work and newly found skills, and also a great way for the community to cheer them on.
If you’re interested, there are two events you can check out, 5-8 pm on either Wednesday, Dec 2 at the Columbia Heights Education Campus at 3101 16th Street NW and Thursday, Dec. 3 at HD Woodson High, 540 55th Street NE.
Both days are free and open to the public and you can arrive anytime during the event.
Here’s a couple of great videos about DC SCORES alumni, Ingrid and Xavier. Xavier was on MSNBC to talk about the program and Ingrid lives in Columbia Heights.
The kids at Powell Elementary wrote a blog post about their experiences with some poems, and the kids from Brightwood Elementary had a training session with the US Women’s National Soccer team.
There are many ways to get involved with DC SCORES. Sign up to volunteer at a neighborhood school; donate to the program (always helpful!); host a small fundraiser for the the organization; and more! Learn how at www.DCSCORES.org
Here’s more about the Poetry Slam and DC SCORES in general.
The DC SCORES Poetry Slam! funnels the energy and creativity
of youth into self-expression as a means of improving their literacy
rates and raising their self-esteem. The students, ages 8-15,
represent seven of the District’s eight wards.On consecutive nights,1,500 District of Columbia public and public
charter elementary and middle school students will take the stage
during the 18th annual citywideDC SCORES Poetry Slam!com-
petition to vie for the Golden Mic trophy. The Slam showcasesoriginal works of poetry written and performed by studentsfrom DC SCORES’after-school program. The Poetry Slam!, the
largest youth slam in the District, is aFREE, two-night event and
is open to the public.About DC SCORES
DC SCORES has a team-based approach for providing youth with
the arts, athletics, and academics that will engage and enrich their
lives. DC SCORES builds teams through after-school programs
for 1,500 low-income DC youth at 44 schools by instilling self-
expression, physical fitness, and a sense of community. DC
SCORES accomplishes this in an innovative model combining
poetry and spoken word, soccer, and service-learning year-round.
We have worked with over 8,000 students since our founding in
1994 and we aim to serve EVERY child in the District deserving of
a team who does not have one.DC SCORES is an affiliate and flagship of America SCORES, the
nation’s largest inner-city soccer and literacy program with programs in 14 cities. For more information, please visitwww.DCSCORES.org
