Hands up!

Last Friday we started out first program of the semester at Francis Stevens EC. The Grassroot Project curriculum has lots of fun ways to get kids' attention. Instead of yelling "quiet" or "shhh," instead Athlete Coaches have key words or phrases that get the kids to respond in unison. All the sudden, the room is silent, and we are ready to move onto the next activity. It really works wonders- try it sometime when you are in a big group!

One such mechanism is the “Lions and Tigers and Bears”. When the coaches yell this out, all the kids respond “Oh My!” Another favorite is to simply yell “Hands Up”. Normally, the kids all put both hands in the air.

Once again, the kids at Francis Stevens continue to surprise us! This time, when TSpence yelled “Hands Up,” the kids responded: “ AAAND THEY STAY THERE!”

Big Daddy G: Programs Coordinator reflects on Athletes2Coaches training

The 2010-2011 school year is proving to be yet another great year for THE GRASSROOT PROJECT!! It seems that our current athlete coaches at Georgetown, Howard and George Washington have continued to spread the word about what a great opportunity we have to use our status as student athletes to educate D.C. youth about HIV/AIDS. Large representations of newcomers who are learning the curriculum and returning athletes who have volunteered their time to help out at training have the future of Grassroots looking bright!

It's been an awesome experience seeing our programs come together at the beginning of each semester and I'm always amazed at how willing student-athletes are to volunteer their precious time for a cause they know is greater than themselves. Being at training everyday and working with these amazing student-athletes from George Washington, Howard and Georgetown has been an inspiration!

- Greg

From Maggie "GI" Girard: one of our newest Grassroot Hoyas!

I have to admit, I was a little skeptical when everyone told me that Grassroots training is really fun. I mean, AIDS games?! Fun?! My own early AIDS education consisted of a video that basically repeated the mantras "DON'T HAVE SEX" and "DON'T MIX BLOOD TO BECOME BLOOD BROTHERS" over and over for 20 minutes (hooray for public schools in the 90s). But the first two days of training were a blast!

A lot of the activities were games that I played in elementary school, and it was really cool to see how they were turned into lessons not only about HIV and AIDS, but about balancing your life, standing up to peer pressure, and making good choices. Sending important messages in such a fun and interactive way makes me feel like a real role model that kids can like and respect, instead of making me seem like some random person sent into schools to terrorize children about STIs.

Also, as an athlete, I love meeting other athletes from different sports and different schools and seeing what kind of experiences we all share. My sport is such an important part of my life, and it's really powerful to be surrounded by people who are as dedicated as I am to their own teams and sports. It's pretty awesome that Grassroots recognizes how special athletes are and how much influence they can have on young students