Latest installment of his community-building initiative delights neighbors and supporters
YEADON, July 22, 2013 – Squeals of delight, splashes from the pool, giggling painted faces and screeching sneakers were among the sights and sounds at the Neighbor to Neighborhoods Summer of Peace 2013 last Saturday at the Nile Swim Club.
Players from the 12-and-under Eastwick and Sheppard teams face off during the second round of the 2013 Neighbor to Neighborhoods Summer of Peace Basketball Tournament held at the Nile Swim Club. Eastwick emerged victorious at the event, sponsored by state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams.
Throughout the day, the Nile’s storied pool was open for swimming, volunteers guided arts and craft activities and a moon bounce captivated minds and bodies. So did the next installment of the 2013 Summer of Peace Basketball Tournament, a multi-age, divisional contest being waged by students across the 8th District.
On Saturday, in the up-to-12 division, teams from Sheppard, Eastwick, Yeadon, Lansdowne, Darby, Myers battled on the court – with Sheppard, Lansdowne, Darby and Eastwick emerging victorious. In the upper division, Lansdowne faced off with Sheppard, and won. Games will continue until the finals, which will be held Aug. 10 at the Cobbs Creek Parkway Recreation Center.
The games are one means of fostering teamwork, goal setting and conflict resolution through sport, transferrable elements and traits that can help stem violence, Williams said.
That spirit helped propel Yvonne Harris, an Eastwick resident, to enroll her grandson, Calil, in the basketball tournament after attending the kickoff Summer of Peace event at Myers Rec. It’s giving him a constructive outlet and an opportunity to build real-world skills and relationships while he’s visiting her from Brooklyn this summer.
“I simply love this,” Harris said.
The day’s event, a signature pro-community measure conceived and sponsored by state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams, drew hundreds of families and children from across Delaware County and parts of Philadelphia. WAWA, Fresh Grocer, Cave Financial and Symphony Catering served as key sponsors.
In addition the 700 or so who attended, Yeadon Mayor Dolores Jones Butler and mayor-elect, the Rev. Rohan Hepkins, also joined the activities.
It was the second in this summer-long series that focuses on a key tenet of this Williams anti-violence campaign: all kids must play. These family-focused cookouts emerged after he shifted from his decades-long street festival in Southwest Philadelphia to concentrating efforts on extended, community-based activities that promote peace.
For details about attending or volunteering at upcoming Summer of Peace activities, visit the senator’s web site or call (215) 492-2980.
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