My name is
Joby and I am a graduate of Temple University where I majored in Geography and
Urban Studies. I have always been passionate about helping less fortunate
individuals. My studies at Temple were focused on helping to alleviate the
socioeconomic problems urban communities face. I am especially interested in
serving urban youth in at risk communities by providing the responsible role
models, hobbies and guidance they require for healthy development. I work at
One Day at a Time, a nonprofit dedicated to serving low income and homeless individuals
suffering from substance addiction and HIV/AIDS in Philadelphia. Additionally,
ODAAT is working to develop programs for youth to promote antiviolence in the
city’s communities. For the last ten years, I have been riding BMX bikes in my
free time. I have watched BMX open doors for many of my friends, giving them
something to be passionate about and affording them the ability to travel,
learn about new cultures and get away from many of the negative influences they
grew up around.
Philadelphia’s
youth have long been affected by, and subsequently become involved in, the
violence going on in the neighborhoods and communities they live in. Getting
kids off the street corners and onto BMX bikes will allow them to focus their
interests, energy, and passion on an outlet that can have numerous positive
influences in their lives. We want to see youth develop into the smart,
hardworking, healthy individuals they should be. I have already received
overwhelming interest and support from the kids and parents I regularly come
into contact with when riding in some of the roughest neighborhoods of
Philadelphia. Many of these communities do not have the satisfactory resources
to ensure positive youth development. Opening up kids to a great new hobby that
they can cultivate a passion for could help to move kids away from the drug and
gun cultures ruining our city by promoting an exciting sport and new outlook on
life.
Contributors
who donate to The Philadelphia Urban Youth BMX BikeLife Program will help to
get Philadelphia’s youth involved in a constructive program promoting safer
communities. Philadelphia’s youth have long been affected by, and subsequently
become involved in, the violence going on in the neighborhoods and communities
they live in. Getting kids off the street corners and onto BMX bikes will allow
them to focus their interests, energy, and passion on an outlet that can have
numerous positive influences on their lives.
At the program’s inception, it will be similar to
a summer camp. Ultimately, I would like it to be adapted to an after school
program operating year round. As an afterschool camp, the program will be incentivized
with good performance and behavior in the class room week to week. By
establishing goals and benchmarks for youth to work towards in the class room, the
program will ideally offer participants prizes such as BMX stickers, DVDs, and
T-shirts. Those who are enrolled in the program and do not meet the behavioral
and performance requirements will not be allowed to participate until they have
addressed the issues. The top two students who exhibit the best performance or
improvement throughout the program will be able to take home their very own BMX
bike.
We have set
out to reach a $10,000 fundraising goal to support the program. The majority of
the funding, 60%-70%, would be used to supply the program and youth with BMX
bikes. Materials for ramps and other pre-fabricated obstacles, such as grind
rails and boxes, would make up the next largest percentage of the funding,
using 20%. Helmets and safety equipment would account for another 10%-15% of
the funding that is raised. Any left over funding would be used to supply the
program’s participants with T-shirts from BMX companies.
If
we do not reach our entire financial goal, we will still be using all of the funds for
the BMX program. Not meeting our goal would simply mean that we would need to
scale down the initial startup size of this program.
Making a
donation to this project will help get kids off the streets and involved in a
constructive hobby led by responsible role models. Contributions will help to provide
the program with BMX bikes, safety equipment, program shirts, ramps and
materials, and prizes for the kids. This program will also address the issue of
absent fathers in urban demographics, providing youth with responsible male
role models. Getting Philadelphia’s youth to put down the guns and pick up a
bike will have long lasting effects on our communities. Promoting anti violence
initiatives and exposing kids to a hobby they can develop a passion for will ultimately
result in safer communities.
One
challenge for this program would be acquiring the facilities, parks, and spaces
to run the program. Compared to other cities, Philadelphia is behind in terms
of the number of public skate parks where riders initially pick up the sport and
then hone their skills. But, the city’s unique architecture and urban landscape
actually make up for this shortage of official skate parks.
By using Philadelphia’s
existing built environment, which offers riders public spaces and parks that
house countless obstacles for kids to develop BMX skill sets on, we can overcome
the challenge of not having an officially designated space. Every corner of the
city offers parks and playgrounds that provide BMX riders the embankments,
ramps, rails, ledges and stairs we use to learn and perform our tricks. By using
Philadelphia’s existing public spaces, and not requiring that facilities be
built specifically for the purpose of this program, we are utilizing tools and
space the city possess to teach a new generation an exciting hobby. Using these
existing public spaces makes the program financially feasible by cutting out one
of the most significant costs, purchasing land and building a facility. After the
program has achieved satisfactory success and our communities have been made
safer, the city will see the clear benefits of building more skate parks and
BMX plazas for youth to develop their skill sets in a safe, designated space.
If you do
not have the means to contribute to the Philadelphia Urban Youth BMX BikeLife
Program, please share our fundraising campaign with your network. We need all
the help we can get in our quest to make Philadelphia’s neighborhoods safer and
give our youth a constructive hobby to become passionate about. Enough is
enough, help us to get youth to put down the guns and pick up a bike. Keep our
kids and streets safe!