Check out more photos from the event
here!
Dorchester, MA – (November 12, 2009) – On Thursday, November 12th, America SCORES New England (ASNE) hosted its 11th Annual Poetry Slam! at the Strand Theater in Dorchester, MA. The Poetry Slam! is a two-hour celebratory event where the youth enrolled in ASNE’s after-school program have the unique opportunity to take the stage and recite original creative writing pieces. At this year’s event, 360 elementary students from 12 Boston Public Schools performed to a packed audience of peers, family, friends, community members, and special guests. In attendance were: Kristine Lilly—2-time Olympic Gold Medalist for the US Women’s National Soccer Team and #13 for the Boston Breakers; Kheli Dube—finalist for the 2008 Major League Soccer Rookie of the Year and #11 for the New England Revolution; and Bob Sweeney—Boston Bruins legend, recent inductee to the Massachusetts Hockey Hall Fame, and current Director of Development for the Boston Bruins.
Dwayne Simmons, ASNE’s Elementary Education Director and Host of the Poetry Slam!, had the honor of introducing Kristine Lilly and Kheli Dube to a crowd of enthusiastic elementary students and guests. Acknowledging the importance of ASNE’s Annual Poetry Slam!, Kristine Lilly proudly announced “Tonight is a great night, it’s for the kids, they get the opportunity to come out here and express themselves… it’s going to be so great to hear what they have inside to share with you.” In agreement, Kheli Dube stated “Tonight is their night, let’s enjoy this night for the kids.”
On behalf of The Bruins Foundation, Bob Sweeney had the great pleasure of presenting ASNE with a $30,000 grant award check. Addressing the audience he stated “I played soccer growing up as a kid, but I made my living with my feet…with playing ice hockey…I had a lot of fun, I was in the same position a lot of you kids are in right now, you all have special dreams of being the next great soccer player, the next great guitar player…but on behalf of The Bruins Foundation we see a lot of value in your program and we are happy to support your program.”
The theme of the 11th Annual Poetry Slam!—“ A Tribute to…”—allowed ASNE’s students to address and honor what was most valuable in their lives. Highlights included performances from students at the Young Achievers Elementary School and PJ Kennedy Elementary School. Delivering a tribute to their principal Virginia Chalmers, students from the Young Achievers Elementary School shouted onstage “Thank you for being our principal, that we really trust and must dedicate this to you for being true….…thank you Ms. Chalmers for being so gracious, you understand all races, and you’re tenacious!” With a hats off salute at the end of their performance, students turned their backs to the audience to display a huge ‘Thank You!’ written on each shirt. When asked their motivation and inspiration to write this piece, students replied “…[our principal] is awesome, she helps us, and gives us everything we need!”
Students from the PJ Kennedy School delivered a tribute to their heroes. Students addressed a wide array of individuals from firefighter and doctors to parents and family members. Honoring
her mother, one student stated “Mom, I will never stop loving you.” In response, the student’s mother shouted from the crowd “I love you.” This presentation of emotions continued as the Russell Elementary, McKay K-8, Mattahunt Elementary, Mather Elementary, Marshall Elementary, JF Kennedy Elementary, Jackson Mann k-8, Hennigan Elementary, Grew Elementary, and Edison K-8 gave tribute respectively to love, East Boston, earth, volunteer, our leaders: A-Z, America, parents, musical artists, family, and food.
At the end of the night, Host Dwayne Simmons announced Adonis Mejia, a 5th grade student from Grew Elementary in Hyde Park, and Chereka McCants, a 5th grade student from Marshall Elementary in Dorchester, as the winners selected to attend America SCORES’ 4th Annual National Poetry Slam! In April 2010, these students will travel to New York City to perform the original poetry in front of a live audience.
Last night, at America SCORES New England's first benefit concert in history, hip-hop artists Dagha, Al-Jabra, Shazzo, singers April & Sean, reggae band Project Tree, and DJ Nightime Gallagher packed the basement of the Good Life in downtown Boston. The music was fantastic...we can't wait for the next concert! Check out pictures of the concert here.
All proceeds are to benefit America SCORES New England!
Dorchester, MA – (November 12, 2009) – On Thursday, November 12th, America SCORES New England (ASNE) hosted its 11th Annual Poetry Slam! at the Strand Theater in Dorchester, MA. The Poetry Slam! is a two-hour celebratory event where the youth enrolled in ASNE’s after-school program have the unique opportunity to take the stage and recite original creative writing pieces. At this year’s event, 360 elementary students from 12 Boston Public Schools performed to a packed audience of peers, family, friends, community members, and special guests. In attendance were: Kristine Lilly—2-time Olympic Gold Medalist for the US Women’s National Soccer Team and #13 for the Boston Breakers; Kheli Dube—finalist for the 2008 Major League Soccer Rookie of the Year and #11 for the New England Revolution; and Bob Sweeney—Boston Bruins legend, recent inductee to the Massachusetts Hockey Hall Fame, and current Director of Development for the Boston Bruins.
Dwayne Simmons, ASNE’s Elementary Education Director and Host of the Poetry Slam!, had the honor of introducing Kristine Lilly and Kheli Dube to a crowd of enthusiastic elementary students and guests. Acknowledging the importance of ASNE’s Annual Poetry Slam!, Kristine Lilly proudly announced “Tonight is a great night, it’s for the kids, they get the opportunity to come out here and express themselves… it’s going to be so great to hear what they have inside to share with you.” In agreement, Kheli Dube stated “Tonight is their night, let’s enjoy this night for the kids.” 
The theme of the 11th Annual Poetry Slam!—“ A Tribute to…”—allowed ASNE’s students to address and honor what was most valuable in their lives. Highlights included performances from students at the Young Achievers Elementary School and PJ Kennedy Elementary School. Delivering a tribute to their principal Virginia Chalmers, students from the Young Achievers Elementary School shouted onstage “Thank you for being our principal, that we really trust and must dedicate this to you for being true….…thank you Ms. Chalmers for being so gracious, you understand all races, and you’re tenacious!” With a hats off salute at the end of their performance, students turned their backs to the audience to display a huge ‘Thank You!’ written on each shirt. When asked their motivation and inspiration to write this piece, students replied “…[our principal] is awesome, she helps us, and gives us everything we need!” 
her mother, one student stated “Mom, I will never stop loving you.” In response, the student’s mother shouted from the crowd “I love you.” This presentation of emotions continued as the Russell Elementary, McKay K-8, Mattahunt Elementary, Mather Elementary, Marshall Elementary, JF Kennedy Elementary, Jackson Mann k-8, Hennigan Elementary, Grew Elementary, and Edison K-8 gave tribute respectively to love, East Boston, earth, volunteer, our leaders: A-Z, America, parents, musical artists, family, and food. 
EAST BOSTON, MA—On October 23rd 2009, a seasonably chilly Friday afternoon, thirty employees from Thomson Reuters’ Boston office left their business suits behind, donning soccer cleats and windbreakers as they gathered on the field of LoPresti Park in East Boston. It must have seemed strange that a group of financial industry heads were hanging out at a park on the Boston harbor during the workday, but the Thomson Reuters employees in Boston and across the nation were on a mission: to organize a service project with the national non-profit America SCORES. In the Boston area, Thomson Reuters collaborated with the America SCORES’ regional affiliate, America SCORES New England, to benefit the public school students who attend its after-school program. This school year, 660 at-risk elementary and middle school students are participating in the America SCORES New England after-school program, which combines soccer leagues, language arts workshops, and service-learning projects that inspire youth to lead healthy lifestyles, be engaged students, and become agents of change in their communities. 
As kids began to funnel in, dropping their backpacks hurriedly at the corner of the field, they began searching for their teammates. “Whoa, you are totally on Team Toros too!” one girl exclaimed to her friend, motioning grandly to a nearby group of Thomson Reuters staff holding up a poster with a large, frightening looking bull on it. Within minutes, everyone made their way over to one of seven teams, which sported names such as Team Ole Ole, Los Diablos, and Team Del Sol.
As the day drew to a close, the Thomson Reuters volunteers and McKay poet-athletes assembled on the grass for the awards ceremony. Calling out student names with much cheering, Thomson Reuters staff handed out certificates of achievement and a donated soccer ball for each poet-athlete to take home. As the poet-athletes picked up their knapsacks and began to head home, there was already talk amongst Thomson Reuters and America SCORES staff about when they could hold another event. “It’s great to see our employees so engaged!” Danielle McLaughlin from Thomson Reuters’ Human Resources Department announced. America SCORES New England’s Deputy Director, Caryl Lattof, had this to say: “In the midst of a major recession it’s inspiring to see individuals from the financial sector work so closely with non-profits to provide at-risk youth with events like this. In this new and ever-changing economic climate, corporate citizenship is arguably more important now than ever…people are re-directing more of their energy towards helping others.” For the McKay kids in East Boston, many of whom had never met employees from a downtown financial firm, this burgeoning corporate citizenship is an unprecedented gift.