NEW ORLEANS – On Wednesday, August 26, 2015, from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., District "D" Councilmember Jared C. Brossett and the Major League Baseball (MLB) Urban Youth Academy will co-host a commemoration of the establishment of the New Orleans MLB Urban Youth Academy and the work that has been accomplished over the past 10 years.
The free event for the MLB Urban Youth Academy at Wesley Barrow Stadium at Pontchartrain Park, 6500 Press Dr., is co-sponsored by the National Basketball Retired Players Association, the New Orleans Recreation Department Commission, Each One Save One and the Jack Fielkow Scholarship Fund. The event will begin with speeches from Councilmember Brossett, Arnie Fielkow and MLB representatives. An exhibition of the Academy will follow.
After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the MLB, Each One Save One, and former Councilmember-at-Large Arnie Fielkow established the New Orleans MLB Urban Youth Academy in 2012. With this, New Orleans became the only city to have a MLB Urban Youth Academy without a MLB team. The parties saw that it was important not only to rebuild houses and businesses, but also to reestablish the programs and functions that are pivotal to a functional community. Through sports and mentoring, the partner organizations have worked with over 1,300 local children and have awarded the first scholarships through the Jack Fielkow Scholarship Fund.
"This program fills an important need in our city," said Councilmember Brossett. "Participation in sports and mentorship gives our youth focus and a path of opportunity to realizing their dreams in athletics and beyond. The sponsors of this program deserve praise for the time and resources they are dedicating to the children of New Orleans."
