South Philly Review

Kenyatta Bey launched the Point Breeze Youth Development Basketball League at Chew Playground, 19th Street and Washington Avenue, in 1997. It now reaches more than 6,500 kids -- some of whom have gone on to play professionally. If that doesn't prove its success, then the children who love it does.

"They keep coming back year after year after year," Bey said. "It plays a major part of what's going on in the community and it has a lasting effect."

So much of an impact that Bey has expanded services and activities available to the children of Point Breeze with a new program set to kick off Dec. 1.

"I realized that there were many children that I wasn't able to reach because some don't play basketball and some don't excel at basketball," he said.

The Point Breeze Youth Development Educational Center, 1530 Point Breeze Ave., will be geared toward neighborhood youths ages 6 to 21 from 3 to 7 p.m. weekdays and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays regardless of their interests. Referred to as The Point, the facility will provide a safe haven while promoting discipline, education and achievement, and encouraging participants to become productive members of the community.

To achieve this, Bey didn't "go for the soup of the day," he said, but stuck with his vision and persevered in order to touch lives with the new center.

"Today, I want us to all focus on the new addition to the South Philly community -- The Point," he said at Saturday's grand-opening ceremony.

About 50 residents came out in support of the opening, as did community leaders, representatives of the center's partners and politicians, including state Rep. Kenyatta Johnson and state Sens. Larry Farnese and Anthony Williams. They view The Point as an outlet to push today's youth in a positive direction.

"I was also one of those young men," Johnson, a native of 18th and Dickinson streets, said to the crowd. "If I didn't have a gentleman like Kenyatta Bey in my life like these young kids, I would not be standing here before you."

"There's not going to be anyone out here who's not going to be proud when anyone who comes out of this building goes on to replace Barack Obama in the White House or replaces Michael Nutter as mayor, or becomes governor of Pennsylvania or, frankly, becomes a leader in their minds or in their church or a leader in their neighborhood or becomes a block captain," Williams added. "All of us will be proud of that, but we have to teach them. We have to teach them by our example and our example has to be positive not negative."

The Point's chief financial officer, Fawwaz F. Beyha, offered the space on the first floors of two adjoining rowhomes on Point Breeze Avenue to Bey, who grew up with Behya near 23rd and Tasker streets, and his staff about six months ago. The buildings were abandoned and Beyha, who owns a construction company, renovated the site just for The Point with two floors of apartments above. One of the buildings includes a kitchen, but both have plenty of open space to hold programs.

The nonprofit consisting of five full-time staffers and volunteers is funded purely by donations, grants and the help of state representatives and senators, who promised more funding at the opening.

"We do not turn down anything. A lot of state funding. State Rep. Kenyatta Johnson and state Sen. Larry Farnase -- they're already calling us," Charmance Ogawa, chief communications officer for The Point, said in regards to funding.

The program will be divided by gender and age, 10 to 12; 13 to 15; 16 to 18; and 19 to 21. The Sister to Sister Mentorship will provide life skills, such as etiquette, nutrition and pregnancy prevention, to females, while the Brother to Brother Mentorship will deter drug use, criminal acts and dropping out of school. The free programs will be run by volunteers. The center also will offer services to parents, including computer literacy drug and alcohol awareness and community involvement. The kids will create their own programs, too, Bey said, beginning with his 10-year-old daughter Anisah, who attends Universal Institute Charter School, 811 S. 15th St.

"I'm probably going to be reading to some kids and teaching them to read," she said of her "Anisah's Reading Corner."

"I want to help kids learn how to write stuff," added friend Ameenah Ahmed, 10, who wants to start a writing program at the center.

The Point will provide an array of other services to meet kids' needs, including those offered by partners such as tutoring through Achiever's Learning Zone; fitness classes via Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki, 1241 Carpenter St.; boxing lessons from the Marine Club, 1100 S. Broad St.; horse-riding lessons from Fairmount Park's Chamounix Equestrian Center; and the Saturday Fun Club at the YMCA, 1724 Christian St. A van will transport the participants to activities held at outside facilities.

When a program requires a larger space, The Point can use the YMCA or Vare Recreation Center, 2600 Morris St. Not sure of all the details yet, Vare Secretary/Treasurer Jim Helman was confident, with Bey leading the way, The Point would become a community asset.