Residents clean up parks in Michigan for youth sports

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    FLINT, Michigan (WNEM) — A partnership of organizations is cleaning parks in Genesee County for youth sports.

Quincy Murphy has spent years maintaining Flint’s Dewey Park.

“This park here, Dewey Park, is an example you can take one park one project at a time and make a difference,” Murphy said.

A space that he said was once drug infested and prone to violence.

“This is one of the most positive parks that you can come to in the city of Flint,” Murphy said.

Today was the first of many cleanups at the park planned throughout the year. With volunteers getting a head start on the cleaning.

“We are kicking off our cleanup a bit earlier than we usually do to get the park ready for them to start their baseball program starting May 1,” Murphy said.

It’s one of many initiatives from the Sylvester Broome Empowerment Village, focused on giving kids a chance.

Linelle Jones-McKenney said she was one of the first females to come out of Flint to play professional basketball.

“We’re taking back the city for our kids, we’re taking back the city bringing these kids getting them out of gangs bringing them out of probation,” Jones-McKenney said.

She credits the programs back then for helping her towards her dream.

“Right now, we don’t have developmental programs when it comes to sports. Right now, we don’t have a lot of arts programs and music programs dance programs,” Jones-McKenney said.

With the cleanup they are giving every child a chance to dream. Using the park in their own backyard for sports and other programs to mold and empower the youth.

“These young people have to have an opportunity to dream because if they don’t dream then we’ll have another generation that we’ve lost,” Jones-McKenney said.

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