Education United States Project #22625

Be a Hero, Build a Hero, Change the world

by Boy With a Ball

Be a Hero, Build a Hero, Change the world

Project Report | Dec 7, 2016
From Setting a Foundation to Unleashing a Movement

By Jamie Johnson | Executive Director

Boy With a Ball Atlanta Velocity Super Saturday

2016 has been a foundational year for Boy With a Ball's work in Atlanta. In February, weekly community walkthroughs were launched on the city's westside, in the shadow of the under construction new Georgia Dome. These walkthroughs were done by Boy With a Ball team members and a flow of 10-20 volunteers each week from universities like Spelman, Morehouse, Georgia Tech, North Georgia, Clark Atlanta, Emory and Georgia State.

Boy With a Ball walkthroughs helped our team build relationships with each resident living in the neighborhoods surrounding our partner organization, City of Refuge. Now that we have built a solid foundation of friendships with these community members, we will begin connecting volunteers and other healthy neighborhood residents with them in mentoring relationships to help them take the next steps toward identifying and reaching their dreams. Additionally, supportive small groups will be multiplied across the neighborhood around key areas of opportunity and common circumstance like womens groups, GED groups, job skills training groups, single mothers groups, tutoring centers and anything else necessary.

This work, which BWAB does in every community we work in across the globe, will launch a grassroots movement of individuals flowing in and across the community to walk with one another and help young people and their families living there grow to the point of thriving. From that point, we will expand into neighboring communities, scaling the work across the city of Atlanta.

Currently we are looking to form our local Boy With a Ball Atlanta board of directors, a fundraising team and a corporate advisory board. If you are interested in helping or know someone we should contact please contact us immediately. We welcome your part in this amazing beginning of a movement that will transform our city!

Boy With a Ball Atlanta Velocity Super Saturday

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Sep 7, 2016
New Leadership Takes Velocity ATL into New Phase

By Jamie Johnson | Executive Director

2016 is proving to be the year that Boy With a Ball Atlanta came into its own! After launching the organization just three years ago, the organization spent its first year doing ethnographic research to understand what young people in Atlanta were facing. Year two was spent establishing the critically important relationship with Atlanta Public Schools to allow us the opportunity to help a school district that is central in deciding the future for young people in Atlanta. Year three included beginning to build the community of volunteers, funders and community members necessary to see the organization thrive.

Now in 2016, our next step has been hiring Mambu Sherman to be the Director of the organization. Mambu's resume is a powerful one with experience in the academic world, in the educational world and in youth ministry and development program leadership. Mambu and his wife, Jen, are dynamic leaders and are passionate about young people and a brilliant addition to Boy With a Ball.

In January, in partnership with the City of Refuge, Boy With a Ball began leading volunteers from universities and churches across the city into Saturday morning walkthroughs in the English Avenue/Vine City neighborhoods. These walkthroughs are mobilizing a grassroots movement of young people out into neighborhoods where young people and their families could very much use a helping hand to help them grow, graduate from school and reach their dreams.

As walkthroughs have grown on the westside and while Velocity continues to grow at Maynard H. Jackson High School/Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School on Atlanta's southside, Boy With a Ball is now hoping to expand Velocity into Booker T. Washington High on the city's westside as well.

Additionally, the organization is working to build a local board of directors, a corporate advisory board and a fundraising team. If you would be interested in giving, going or helping us grow, we would be so happy to have you on the team!

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Jun 1, 2016
High School Superheroes End Year on a High Note

By Anna Currie | Vice President of Operations

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