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Current Programs
Mid-City Baseball/Softball Indoor Academy
William
Still UGRR Foundation Inc., supports exposing youth to baseball
and softball in the Greater Cincinnati, Ohio area as a means of
developing the athletic life skills and personal development of
young people in underserved areas of the city ages 5-17. The
Foundation’s goal with this endeavor is to develop the
character, athletic skills, and educational skills of young boys
and girls in underserved areas of Cincinnati, while
increasing their self-esteem. The program is motivated by the
principle that there is inherent value and return in merging
athletic, educational, and personal development training in a
way that connects and reinforces all three for children. The
program will give youth the opportunity to further their
education while engaging in academic, athletic and social
activities within a safe and constructive environment.
For all programs,
time is spent proportionally on academic and nonacademic
activities. The classes during the academic portion of the day
are Automatic Ending Number System Math (AENS Math)
tutoring and self esteem building.
Values lessons will
be taught with the use of (Victory), Vision, Integrity,
Courage, Thinking, Opportunities, Responsibility, a
value-based curriculum founded by Otis Williams Limitless
(http://www.otiswilliams.com )that teaches lessons to live by
through readings on self, determination, self discipline
teamwork, integrity, commitment, and excellence.
The baseball portion
of the days will be spent on the indoor field in batting and
pitching tunnels etc. Students will receive baseball instruction
on developing and improving basic baseball skills, learning game
fundamentals, sportsmanship, cooperation, teamwork, and
effective listening. The William Still Foundation believes
increasing underserved youth exposure and access to baseball and
softball activities will increase the number of youths
participating on area Knothole and school-aged baseball and
softball teams and simultaneously improve the quality of
baseball and softball programs.
Previous Projects
One of the William Still
UGRR Foundations previous programs, involved a
literacy initiative entitled STILL Connected with Reading
is just one of the goals of the foundation. The program, which
was a yearlong initiative, not only taught children about the
3 cs (courage,
commitment, and cooperation) but also exemplifies the
historical facts that if people in the 1800s taught themselves
to read, then surely people in the new millennium can
accomplish those same goals. William Still, who was dubbed as
the Father of the Underground Rail Road, with only one year of
formal education during his life was a self-taught reader. He
went on to write one of the most prominent books of all time
The
Underground Rail Road.
A nother
book entitled
Dear Friend by Judith Bentley, is
recommended by the foundation as an easy read for students who
want to learn more about the life of Thomas Garrett and
William Still both of whom are listed in history as some of
the major key role players of the Underground Rail Road.
Voices of
Freedom
Still Family griot Gloria Tuggle-Still
has performed across the US. She has captivated
audiences everywhere with her stories about the
legendary Still Family, considered to be one of
the oldest families in the United States. Learn about
Peter Still and how he
bought
himself. Learn about Dr. James Still known as "The
Doctor of the Pines". And don't forget the author of the
"Underground
RailRoad"
William Still. The Voices of Freedom
is a project presented by the William Still Underground
RailRoad Foundation and is partnered with
The
National Park Service
as a program in the Network to Freedom.
If you missed her
performance in Philadelphia at the National Underground
RailRoad Family Reunion, you missed the outstanding performance of Kemba
Johnson-Webb, who captivates audiences everywhere with her
re-enactments of Harriet Tubman, Soujorner Truth, and others! To learn
more about Momma Kemba go to www.storytelling.org/Kemba
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