The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown us all a curve ball over the last eighteen plus months. Adults have changed the way they work, and restrictions have impacted the way they socialize. Children have needed to cope with new ways to learn and many have been stuck indoors during the pandemic. The children of Parkside, Michigan have just recently been able to play outdoors with other kids. So, when Zachary Rowe, Executive Director for Friends Of Parkside, approached DAWGS to sponsor the organization’s 5th Annual Parkside Curb-Ball Tournament, DAWGS was happy to help.
Curb ball is a big deal for children who live in Parkside. It’s a game that at first glance, seems simple, but it’s harder than it looks. To win the game, you have to stand on one side of the street and throw a basketball aiming to hit the curb on the opposite side, your opponent’s side of the street. The person who reaches the predetermined number of points wins the game. The 2021 Curb-Ball Tournament was held to kick off the summer for Parkside children aged 6-17. The tournament took place on the evening of Wednesday, June 23, 2021, at the TVP Community Center in Detroit, Michigan.
As a 2021 sponsor for the tournament, DAWGS provided all the t-shirts for participating children and volunteers. The t-shirts added a sense of community to the event. The children were very competitive and excited to play.
Zachary Rowe commented “As always, when it comes to community events, we really rely on sponsors like DAWGS to make events like this possible. Whenever we have asked DAWGS for support or sponsorship, they have been very generous. DAWGS sponsored the FOP Halloween Party in both 2019 and 2020, which was a socially distanced version of the celebration.
About Friends of Parkside
Friends of Parkside (FOP) is a non-profit, community-based organization located on Detroit’s east side, in The Villages of Parkside, a public housing community. The purpose of FOP is to promote solidarity and help build self-esteem for the youth in the complex, by providing educational and employment-related resources.
