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Defying economic, social and academic odds, a team of high profile professionals in the Fashion, Advertising, Publishing and Public Relations Arena in Miami, will mentor and teach a selected group of children, from the Overtown Youth Center, a program of Alonzo Mourning Charities, how to become successful entrepreneurs by educating them on how to develop a company from its inception and in turn, earn a profit by publishing a first-ever, inner city glossy magazine.
With only one out of 12 students graduating from high school in Overtown, one of South Florida’s oldest and most impoverished neighborhoods, Alonzo Mourning Charities (AMC), renowned publisher Jerry Powers and OYC Center Coordinators selected 19 students to create a magazine that speaks for them. They were chosen to be part of this project through their interest in art, dining, photography, sales and fashion. Empowered by this creative venture, they will have eight weeks to come up with a name, write and edit copy, style fashion pages, handle the graphic design, style and shoot photos and provide a ready-to-publish magazine, transmitted electronically to a Virginia-based printer.
The students will meet every Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. to brainstorm, discuss and finalize ideas for the magazine. Epicure Gourmet Market and Café will generously provide the student’s with lunch and snacks for the eight weeks.
Powers, who formerly published highly successful Ocean Drive magazine, is committed along with AMC, to coach the students in what Powers hopes will be a self-sustaining, ongoing magazine. Determined to support the children in creating a winning first issue of the magazine, he and Mourning would like to see the kids’ magazine to take off. Their aim: teach the children how successful business really works.
Jerry Powers co-founded SoBe News, Inc., after a track record of launching The Daily Planet and concert promotions for leading musical talent including Elvis Presley, Elton John and Jimi Hendrix. After expanding his Ocean Drive franchise with Ocean Drive in Espanol, VEGAS magazine, Florida InsideOut and many other publications, he has created Power Play Studio, a cutting-edge, stunning venue for special events and multi-media photo shoots.
Powers has taken American art to new heights with his work in Japan, Spain and the Soviet Union. Powers was honored for his artistic accomplishments at White House ceremonies by Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush, as well as Russian presidents Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin. Over a 30-year career, Powers has been a central player in the social, cultural and political fabric that has shaped American society.
Mourning, a Miami resident, is committed through the Alonzo Mourning Charities, a 501(c)(3) foundation which has already raised more than $7 million to fund programs that promote positive change in low socioeconomic communities including stimulating the development of future youth enrichment centers. The Overtown Youth Center, which was founded by Mourning in 2003, is the first such effort. Mourning, the recipient of numerous charitable awards, has received among others, the NBA’s Community Assist Award; the National Urban League’s Outstanding Community Service Award; the Silver Medallion Community Service Award by the National Conference for Community and Justice; NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Sportsmanship Award; and The Children’s Trust Excellence Award for Public Policy.
An advocate of youth initiatives and foster care programs that assist abused, abandoned and neglected children, Mourning has been battling health issues since 2000 when he was diagnosed with Focal Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) for which he received a kidney transplant after which he has continued playing basketball and winning championships.
At a time of global economic and social turmoil, inner city students are at even greater risk. The magazine project aims to address those children who might otherwise fall prey to the grim statistics of today’s black America, where six out of 10 high school dropouts have been in prison by their mid-30s, and approximately 70% of infants are born to single mothers.
The lessons that Powers and Mourning aim to teach the children are:
• Discover how to tackle a project from inception through completion, and make it profitable and successful.
• Understand and experience the wide range of efforts needed for a viable business enterprise.
• Learn entrepreneurial skills that can be translated into many different professions and fields.
• Join forces: when a venture brings together a community to support its member’s success is possible.
• Raise awareness of Overtown Youth Center through national and local press coverage.
Participating students who will perform the duties of fashion photographer, stylists, writers and editors, will enjoy visiting local fashion boutiques and retailers to select clothing and accessories in order to learn the art of styling for the issue.
The Overtown Youth Center’s magazine launch will culminate with a special event in which participating students will plan and produce themselves.
About Overtown Youth Center
Opened in 2003, The Overtown Youth Center is a prevention program dedicated to providing Overtown’s children with educational, cultural and recreational services in a safe environment. Working with children from grade 2 – two years post high school, the OYC offers in-school, after-school, weekend, and summer programs that focus on inspiring, empowering and enriching the lives of the children it serves.
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