Baltimore Child First After School Programs Because of your commitment to PlaySmart, over 500 families were able to reclaim a playground that once was the largest open air drug market in the neighborhood. At the same playground, forty young people learned the sports of basketball and tennis. PlaySmart focused on these projects in order to initiate a strong relationship with the Child First Authority in Baltimore. Child First is an after school strategy to help disadvantaged children reach their full potential by offering them academic, cultural and recreational enrichment between the hours of 3pm and 6pm. Widely recognized as one of the best after school initiatives in Maryland, Child First has organized parents and educators to challenge students academically and culturally as well as to improve the quality of life in their communities. PlaySmart met parents, teachers, and coaches who not only dream of children in Baltimore reaching their full potential, but who are willing to work to fulfill those dreams. These relationships will allow PlaySmart to make a great impact in the lives of Baltimore youth. Here are some of the highlights: PlaySmart joined Dr. Bernard Harris, Sr., Elementary Child First in their efforts to reclaim two abandoned tennis courts in East Baltimore. For the past 15 years, these courts sat idle. Instead of being a place to play, the courts were an open air drug market. Because of our work, 20 children were able to participate in a 3 week tennis academy. In the spring, PlaySmart helped develop a partnership between Child First and the Baltimore Metropolitan Urban Tennis Organization (BMUTO). Founded in 1997, BMUTO has fostered the sport of tennis with over 3,000 Baltimore City youth. At Dr. Bernard Harris Elementary, BMUT provided two top notch tennis instructors, rackets and other supplies to make sure children there were able to fulfill their dream of learning to play tennis. Coupled with the academic and cultural component of the after school program, our partnership helped create a well-rounded program. We plan to continue this partnership, focusing on developing the skills of the students in our first program as well as expanding the opportunity to a new class. Learning from the success of reclaiming the tennis courts, PlaySmart sponsored the dedication of Dr. Bernard Harris's brand new playground. For the past five years, parents, educators, residents and church leaders fought to pressure the City and State to invest in developing playgrounds and parks in inner-city neighborhoods. They increased voter turnout in their community by fifteen percent (unheard of in inner-city neighborhoods), leveraged $275,000 from the state to construct the playground, negotiated with the police to patrol the area, and secured agreements with the Department of Public Works to maintain the park. Attended by over 500 families, the dedication created an opportunity for the community to celebrate their victory, recognize their allies and forge a partnership with all stakeholders to ensure the playground remains a vital place for children to play, grow and "recreate themselves." Nearly 200 parents, teachers, and residents signed up to take ownership of the playground and committed themselves to stand up to the area drug dealers to ensure the playground is safe. This was an important moment because the community began to see PlaySmart as a valuable partner interested not only in providing programs, but in helping them transform their community. Our final project for the year took place at Yorkwood Elementary Child First in northeast Baltimore. Yorkwood has a fabulous academic and cultural program, but children have little to no opportunity to participate in organized athletics. Children receive physical education once a week for 30 minutes half of the year. The other half of the year they receive no instruction and the school has no playground. After finding a talented coach who was willing to invest his time in the young peoples' lives above and beyond sports, the Child First Team asked PlaySmart to sponsor a boy's basketball team. The team went on to win seven out of nine games. Most importantly, Coach Reggie and parent volunteers focused on teaching the boys basic fundamentals. Child First uses the basketball program as an incentive for students to complete their academic work and to stay in school. We intend to expand this partnership because we feel its making a big impact on the ground. Parents, teachers and students have already asked our help to develop athletic opportunities for girls - possibly a softball or track team. We're currently exploring these options and will keep you posted on our continued progress. On behalf of all of the families we have worked with this year, thank you for helping us create opportunities for youth to excel in Baltimore.