JAMBOREE: You can't even imagine this much fun.

On Saturday, June 6 America SCORES Chicago celebrated its 9th annual JAMBOREE!, a year-end festival for the bright and clever poet-athletes that make our program so powerful.  The JAMBOREE! is a way for the North Lawndale and Little Village communities to reclaim Douglas Park as a safe community space and to celebrate their children's successes, ideas, and hard work.  With face painting, water balloons, dunk tanks and a visit from Chicago Red Stars goal keeper Jamiel Johnson, Chicago's poet-athletes had one last hurrah with their writing and soccer coaches before the summer started.

This light-hearted event also had a serious side: each team created a Community Flag which illustrated the things they wish for most: less junk food and more adequate healthcare, less pollution and more recycling, less violence and more peace.  

And what SCORES season would be complete without the anticipated awarding of the coveted Golden Ball? Here are the Spring 2009 champeens:

• Golden Ball Award - Washington Irving
• Girls' Golden Boot - Eli Whitney Girls
• Boys' Golden Boot - Castellanos Boys

In addition, SCORES’ expansion meant that this was the first year Middle School poet-athletes participated in the JAMBOREE.  Poet-athletes explained to their peers the service-projects that they had developed and executed throughout the year.  Projects ranged from distributing anti-drunk driving posters to area bars, to the creation of an antiviolence website, to the creation of a video mapping the assets and challenges of the neighborhood.

After the presentations, teams faced off in a two round soccer tournament.  Here are the results:

• First Place: Corkery/Johnson (Girls); Corkery (Boys)
  
• Second Place: Gregory (Girls); Whitney (Boys)
  

In addition to tournament winners, each team recognized the players on each team who most exemplified Teamwork, Leadership, and Commitment.

Want to see more pictures?  Click on the slideshow to the right, or just follow this link.