Source: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/basketball/orl-sportsnbaconfidential03020309feb03,0,749755.story ********************************************************************* Dwight Howard gives $25,000 to aid Parramore teens Kyle Hightower | Sentinel Staff Writer February 3, 2009 ********************************************************************* In less than two years, the Orlando Magic will be changing their address when their home shifts from Amway Arena to the new downtown events center in 2010. They, however, won't be saying goodbye to the 20-year relationship the team has shared with the Parramore community. That couldn't have been more evident than last week when some of the Magic's top brass was on hand as team megastar Dwight Howard (above) sowed a $25,000 seed in the opening of the Parramore Kidz Zone "Teen Shack." It is the latest in a list of initiatives by the Magic in Parramore, which has included a $250,000 gift to the PKZ and After School All-Stars to provide positive programs for local youth. Last Wednesday's grand opening of the "Teen Shack" was also attended by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and District 5 City Commissioner Daisy Lynum. The newest program at the two-year-old PKZ, it has completely transformed the space inside the Orlando Downtown Recreation Complex that served as the Magic's training locker room 20years ago. A collaborative design of 15 PKZ teens (who also came up with the conduct rules), the "Teen Shack" now will allow youth to utilize a photo lab and laptop computers, and let them simply hang out in a safe after-school environment. "It feels good to know that we have somebody behind us and who knows where we're coming from," said 17-year-old Boone student and PKZ member Johnny Germain. "We're trying to make our dreams come true. Normally people think of Parramore and of us as being criminals or robbing and killing people. "Hopefully people will start to change their minds when they see stuff like this." Since the start of the PKZ in '06, 1,570 of the Parramore neighborhood's children have enrolled in the project. There has also been a 46percent decline in the juvenile-crime rate in Parramore. Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Howard stayed for more than an hour afterward touring the new facility and hanging out with its youth along with Magic community ambassadors Nick Anderson and Bo Outlaw. "The city embraced me and I just want to give back to it," Howard said. "... This never gets old when you can put a smile on a kid's face. You just want them to take advantage of everything they can put their hands on." Magic Chief Operating Officer Alex Martins echoed Howard's outreach message. Martins has the unique firsthand knowledge of having been at the recreation center when the Magic were using it to practice prior to their first season. In the Magic's first season he served as the team's public-relations director. "Parramore is our home, and now more than ever we have to be focused on our community outreach," Martins said. "This is our neighborhood and this is what we're committed to." Teen Shack director Lacary Williams used to run a makeshift after-school clubhouse for Parramore's youth out of her own home. Both of her own children are heavily involved in PKZ programs. Her 17-year-old son, Demarcus Oliver, serves as PKZ's chaplain. She said having an actual facility is huge for not only the youth using it today but for future generations as well. "They are very excited and are talking about it at school," she said. "They're like, 'We've got somewhere to hang out.' I feel like they are all my kids. Whatever my kids are a part of I'm going to be a part of." ********************************************************************* -- Only the strong survive- Iverson ⊕ ═█┘ ⊕ ●╱ 　　　 Ｗ ● ●︵ ● ●)) ３╯ <３\ /３⊕ ／３﹚ ３ \\ />⊕ >/ ⊕ ╲> >> ========= http://www.wretch.cc/blog/AWEI3 ========= --

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