South Philly Review

Beth Devine is expanding her reach to young girls and looking beyond just the game of basketball.

The April launch of the Philly Girls Got Game clinic was so successful that four more were scheduled for this month — the three remaining ones are taking place July 14, 21 and 28 at Neumann-Goretti, 1736 S. 10th St. Devine also is looking at the bigger picture as she unveiled plans for her Philly Girls in Motion program geared towards encouraging young girls to become active and make healthy choices.

“It might be someone who has never exercised a day in their life,” Devine said. “We want to get kids moving.”

With the help of Councilman-at-Large Jim Kenney and the Department of Recreation, the program will get under way in September at two recreations centers — John M. Perzel Community Center in Mayfair and Dorothy Emanuel Recreation Center in East Mount Airy.

“This particular program is not for the high-end athlete,” Kenney, of 11th and Tasker streets, said. “These are for girls that need to get up and about and away from the TV.”

“It might start with a walk around the block,” Devine added.

Devine and Kenney along with other volunteers involved in the program gathered at The Palm at The Bellevue, 200 S. Broad St., June 28 for a two-hour happy hour event to help raise funds for its programs.

Guests included area college basketball coaches and former 76ers general manager and president, Billy King, who was mixing drinks behind the bar. He and his wife are committed to stay involved in the organization, he said.

“If we start young, get them exercising it’s more preventative,” King said noting being active could ward off diseases such as diabetes later in life.

Through Devine’s network, those willing to donate their time to the organization like King have continued to grow.

“Everyone has something to teach and we’re all for it because we want to be a volunteer-driven organization,” she said.

Earlier this year, Devine launched the pilot program of Philly Girls in Motion at a Catholic school on the Main Line. Teens including 18-year-old Stephanie Smedile, who graduated from Merion Mercy Academy in Merion Station last month, gathered twice a week after school to learn about wellness and a variety of exercises from January through May.

“All the girls that did it loved it,” she said. “It gave me motivation to start doing the things we do together on my own.”

Now Smedile’s friends come to her for advice and she can take what she has learned to Drexel University in the fall where she will be freshman psychology major.

“The simple choices you make everyday can be shifted,” the Wallingford resident said.

Although Devine found success with the program at Merion, she didn’t want to target schools in well-off suburbs and teens like Smedile, who played tennis in the fall at her alma mater.

“As we were delivering it, we thought, ‘this is a great program.’ The girls that were there were all in. They were there everyday [the group met] … This is great. Let’s do it where the opportunities aren’t.”

So now the nonprofit will look to start two programs and expand it citywide eventually with more sites potentially popping up in January with a possible South Philly location.

“When we grow, that will probably be one of the first places we go,” Devine said of South Philly.