What are you doing to lead others and to help the community, and what have been the results of your actions?

Choose the project category or categories:
Brief summary of the community issue or opportunity the project will address:

The DollarBoyz Breakaway Project is a year-long series geared towards providing fun and safe social outlets for teens and adolescents to interact with each other, while being exposed to basic and advanced hip-hop/urban dance moves. For young Black men in the Greater Philadelphia, few positive outlets exist for them to creatively express themselves; while recreation centers in the area do exist, many are short on funding, or are not interested in providing programming that accurately speaks to these young men's interests. The DBP exposes teens to a variety of trips, classes, and other positive experiences that keep them active, engaged, and purposeful in their engagement with greater society.

State how the project will work – the activities and timeline:

Sessions for the DBP are slated to run between 3-6PM daily, Monday-Thursday afternoons during the months of January-June, and September-December 2012 (hours for the months of July-August will be determinative of all final grant funds received). Sessions will be housed at The First Responders Club, a members-only organization in North Philadelphia that has agreed to donate space for the DBP during the entirety of its initial life cycle. With exceptions for special events and group trips, DBP sessions will proceed as follows: 3-3:15: Check-In/Snacks 3:15-4PM: Homework Help 4-5:30PM: "Break" Time (dance practice) 5:30-6PM: Wind-Down/Check-Out All dance practices are facilitated by stipend-paid senior performers in the group, who have honed their skills over time while in the DollarBoyz program; tutors will be solicited from local colleges in the area to provide specific homework assistance as needed. Practice sessions will culminate in quarterly DBP showcases (March, June, September, & December), in which all youth are expected to participate; in addition, those with exceptional interest and talent in performing will be invited to become principal dancers for the DollarBoyz group, being showcased in these performances and other special events as opportunities arise. Proceeds from these events will be used to add to the long-term sustainability of the program.

State the results you wish to achieve:

The DollarBoyz Breakaway Project has in mind the following goals: • To increase academic achievement motivation • To increase/build self confidence • To develop and improve stage presence and performance in the entertainment arts To that end, we anticipate seeing an across-the-board expressed improvement in these areas among at least 90% of all participants who complete the entire 12 months of this project.

Choose the project category or categories:

up to $50,000

Who is leading the project? State the name of the person or the project team:

Tyree Dumas--President/CEO, Youth Now On Top (Y-NOT)

How will the project engage others in this issue or opportunity affecting the community?

In addition to engagement in the performing arts through dance, the DollarBoyz Breakaway Project will provide the opportunity for participants to create public service media, that successfully shares their personal accomplishments gained while in the program, along with their points of view on a variety of other subjects of importance to them in real time. These videos could potentially cover a wide range of topics including neighborhood violence, teen pregnancy, and education; final videos produced would be shown at DollarBoyz.com, on the DollarBoyz YouTube channel, at the DBP's quarterly showcases, and at other special events as requested and appropriate.