WHAT: Parramore teens now have a new place to hang out after school – the PKZ Teen Shack -- complete with a new photography lab, laptops and videogames. The new Teen Shack, housed in the Downtown Orlando Recreation Complex, will be officially opened by Orlando Magic Center Dwight Howard, Mayor Buddy Dyer and District 5 City Commissioner Daisy Lynum.

The new Teen Shack is an initiative of the Parramore Kidz Zone (PKZ) to address the need for older youth in the area to have a safe space to spend time in during out-of-school hours. The new center became a reality due to the generous support of Orlando Magic Superstar Dwight Howard, who donated $25,000 to this project as part of winning the 2007-2008 DeVos Community Enrichment Award. Each year, the Orlando Magic honors a player who has dedicated his efforts off the court for the purpose of enhancing others’ lives at the Orlando Magic Youth Fund Gala. In addition to receiving the award, the player is granted $50,000 from the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation to donate to the charity of his choice.

A team of 15 PKZ teens collaborated on the design, features, and even rules of conduct for the Teen Shack, a space that once served as the Orlando Magic’s training locker room. The resulting space will allow the youth to spend their time developing photographs in the photography lab, utilizing state-of-the-art laptops, or simply hanging out with their peers playing videogames or watching movies.

Other PKZ community partner programs in the Orlando Downtown Recreation Complex include the City’s open gym, the Center for Drug-Free Living’s Midnight Basketball, Page 15’s Homework Roomz after-school tutoring, and Workforce Central Florida’s Youth Employment Services (YES) program.

Modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone, Parramore Kidz Zone launched by Mayor Dyer in 2006, employs creative outreach to engage a critical mass of Parramore’s children and linking them to positive opportunities, including pre-kindergarten education, parenting education, health care, mentoring, tutoring, and constructive activities when school is out.

Orlando’s NBA franchise since 1989, the Magic’s mission is to be world champions on and off the court, delivering legendary moments every step of the way. Off the court, on an annual basis the Orlando Magic gives more than $2 million to the local community and impact an estimated 75,000 kids each year. The Orlando Magic is also the developer of the new downtown Events Center opening in the fall of 2010, and the facility will be operated by the City of Orlando and owned by the Central Florida Community.
 

Wednesday, January 28, 2009 at 4:30 p.m.