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FREE community walk/run Aug. 31

Out of the Basement: A Story of Perseverance and Community

Out of the Basement is a documentary short by filmmakers Natalie Avery and Kyle Centers. The film tells the story of Columbia Heights boxer, Greg Newby, as he strives to overcome his past and enter a professional boxing career, even though he has been repeatedly told that the odds are against him.

Avery first heard of Greg’s story while she was a student at The Institute for Documentary Filmmaking at George Washington University. One of her classmates discovered Lime Lite Boxing Gym, where Greg trained, and told Avery about this hidden gem filled with great stories and the great protagonists of these stories. When Avery met Greg at Lime Lite, she was fascinated by his resilience and wanted to learn more.

The dynamic between Greg and his father, Tony, was especially of interest to Avery, who wanted to delve into how they navigate and make sense of the tension posed by competing fears and ambitions.

To share a little of his story (without any major spoilers), Greg thought he had his life figured out—a career in the coastguard, a family, a reliable paycheck—but suddenly that was all gone. These tragedies were not only disappointing to Greg but to his father as well who had hoped for him to have a different kind of life and not have to face the struggles that he had as a young man.

Through the process of telling Greg’s story, Avery learned that you don’t need to reach your ultimate goal to have significant change occur in your life, “Greg may or may not become a world champion," writes Avery, "He may not, as he hopes, make a good living off boxing. But he has learned what he is capable of in the journey so far.”

Even if you aren’t into the DC boxing subculture, this film has something to offer you. On the surface, the film is about a boxer and has the audience on the edge of their seats wondering “Is he going to make it?” But in Avery's words, the boxing is a metaphor about something greater, "the rawness and the struggle of rising to the challenge of life, especially a life in this economy where there is such a winner take all mentality.”

Indeed, Avery hopes that one of the main messages that youth learn from the film is that success requires individual diligence and perseverance but also depends on the strength of the community surrounding oneself.

For show times (many screenings are at DC Public Libraries) and trailers, see outofthebasementdc.com.

DC partners with FoodCorps to promote healthy eating among children

OSSE's recent news―OSSE Launches Initiative to Increase Healthy Eating among District Students―means great things for children and youth in DC. Thirteen AmeriCorps service members will engage children in learning about healthy food, how it grows, and where it comes from, and ensuring they have access to these foods every day during the 2014-15 school year. The AmeriCorps members will be placed in public schools and community-based organizations.

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Ward 8 summer kickoff event June 28

What's it like to grow up in DC?

If the first episode ("Intersections") of the new Shop Talk series is any indication, we're in for a profound ride. The first episode

provides intimate, first-person testimonials from three young black men growing up in Ward 8, Southeast Anacostia, one of D.C.'s most underserved communities. These perspectives – captured within an historic barbershop at the intersection of Malcolm X and MLK Boulevards – were created to illuminate quantitative findings on the state of young black men in D.C., which were provided by noted scholars and educators, Dr. Ivory A. Toldson and Dr. Sarah D. Manekin.

The Shop Talk Storytelling Series (http://www.shoptalkdc.org/) made its debut May 28 at the Breakfast and Briefing on Black Male Achievement. The series "is a mixed-media, multi-episodic, storytelling series that examines the varying complexities, challenges and opportunities young people face growing up in our nation's capital."

The event, sponsored by DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation, presented the Shop Talk series and data from the black male achievement report.

Student reps needed for DC State Board of Education; deadline June 11

The DC State Board of Education encourages young people to apply to be a student representative to the board for SY 2014-15. Two student reps are needed. The deadline is June 11. The application is on the DC State Board of Education website.

Student reps connect students and educational policymakers and will will have to

• Attend and actively participate in approximately six hours per month at two monthly meetings
• Participate in public meetings and hearings and community engagement activities
• Serve for a full school year
• Use effective communication skills and promote a team environment