Our Youth and Amateur Sports Grant was a Success!
Hey all!
Lex here. This is my last address to you all as Program Coordinator for the Youth and Amateur Sports Grant.
After nine months of hard work, we’ve served our promised amount of 400 youth through partnerships with eight different organizations, six of which were cultivated specifically through the efforts of this grant. In total, we ran 22 workshops and nine series of classes varying between 4–12 weeks in length over the duration of the grant.
Working on this endeavor has taught me so much about what I am truly capable of. Moreover, it has taught me the value of showing up.
For the past nine months, I’ve had the opportunity to take up space in the lives of so many youth of color. I’ve shown them how I live, not as a monolith, but as a human being with my own character, experiences, and expression.
I’ve brought the movement that I’ve spent so much of my life cultivating to new minds and perspectives. I’ve watched my students overcome fears in an instant. I’ve seen their eyes light up from the sheer excitement of success. I’ve facilitated the creation of memories.
This past Juneteenth, I visited Dallas to participate in Obsidian Gathering, a parkour jam for and by Black folks. There I got to see a glimpse of what these memories could lead to. I got to see Black people move, jump, climb, laugh, and take up space in a world that has consistently told them they don’t deserve to do those things. I don’t know where the seeds planted through this grant will lead, but the potential alone makes it worth the labor.
For me, parkour has always been about liberation. At first for myself, and now as a potential pathway for folks like me: BIPOC, queer, low income, dangerously cool, and all the rest. I am thankful that I’ve been able to take such an active role in making a dent in the barriers many face in having movement and play accessible to them. I am thankful for all the cooperation of our partners, PKV staff, and volunteers in helping to make the goals of the grant a reality.
The Youth and Amateur Sports Grant has been a beautiful step forward in the direction of Parkour Visions’ mission. I look forward to our continued development and growth in making access to play a reality for all.
Yours truly,
Lex Dye
YASG Program Coordinator
