Communities In Schools of New Jersey host First Annual "ME AND MY MENTOR 2 ON 2 BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Newark, NJ - Mayor Cory A. Booker and Director of Neighborhood and Recreational Services Melvin Waldrop announced today that the "Me and My Mentor 2 on 2 Basketball Tournament" will take place at the St. Peter's Recreation Center, on Saturday, July 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The St. Peter's Recreation Center is located at 378 Lyons Avenue. The tournament is FREE and open to the public. The tourney will be held on the outdoor courts, and rain date for the event is Saturday, July 25.

The tourney will have two brackets: ages 13-14, and age 15. From 10 to noon, youngsters aged 12 and under will participate in "Skills and Drills" contests. At noon, the older youth and adult members will take part in "two on two" basketball games, representing community and mentoring organizations. There will be 96 participants - 48 youngsters and their 48 mentors. Each team will consist of one teenager and one mentor. Each game will have a 15-minute time limit or an 11-point scoring limit, whichever comes first. The tournament is co-ed.

Mentoring has been an important focus for the Booker administration since taking office in 2006, as a means to empower youth and engage them in public service and community development. Mayor Booker has worked to create mentoring programs in Newark's public and private sector.

"Through this unique program, we will enable our children to manifest their personal excellence on the basketball court through healthy competition. Everyone taking part in this tournament will be a winner. I commend all of our community partners who came together to empower Newark's children so they can achieve personal success," Mayor Booker said.

The program is a partnership between the City of Newark, WBLS Radio 107.5FM, Newark Now, Street Warriors. Inc. and Communities In Schools of New Jersey. The latter organization coordinated the mentoring programs and tournament registration. The adult mentors are community residents who volunteered to mentor the youth, and were matched with the teenagers by Communities in Schools. The WBLS Street Team will provide music at the event, and Newark Now will distribute giveaways and information about the City of Newark's Super Summer programs.

"I am most encouraged by the enthusiasm that the City of Newark's Division of Recreation/Cultural Affairs staff and our many local mentoring organizations have shown for this event. While we plan to have a great time, our ultimate goal for the day is to register a minimum of 50 Newark youth in local mentoring programs and recruit the same number of adult mentors," said Communities In Schools of New Jersey Mentoring Success Center Director Thomas Owens.

"We are proud to partner with Communities in Schools of New Jersey to bring the empowerment of mentoring and the joy of basketball competition to Newark youngsters," Director Waldrop said. "I commend everyone involved with this tournament, which enhances our Super Summer programs."

"We believe that education is a process in which no man or woman can be robbed and we are looking to expand mentoring opportunities for Newark's youth," said Street Warriors Athletic Director Tony "Olajuwon" Edwards. "This is a much-needed program in the community. A lot of kids look to mentors like big brothers and sisters as a positive force in their life. It gives them life skills and teaches discipline, teamwork, and self-esteem."

For information about the Communities In Schools of New Jersey Mentoring Success Center, call (973) 242-0706 or visit the Communities In Schools of New Jersey website at http://www.cisnj.org.

**POSTSCRIPT**

The event was a great success! Thanks to all of our partners and especially the wonderful mentors that stood up for the youth of Newark. Over 65 players registered for the tournament and well over three-hundred people joined us in St. Peters Recreation Center for a day of Mentoring, Music, Food and FUN! Special thanks to WBLS radio and DJ Mitch - The People Pleaser for rocking the park all day!