The Community Place- Media Room

August 5th “Stroll For Control Of Violence” Walk-a-Thon

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (August 2, 2006) – On Saturday, August 5th, 2006, the students of the Rochester After School Academy (RASA) at Dr. Freddie Thomas High School will be hosting their first annual “Stroll For Control of Violence” Walk-a-Thon at Dr. Freddie Thomas High School. The event will kick-off the students’ “A Dime for a Crime” campaign, an anti-violence initiative designed to involve young people in the fight against violence. The event, which is free of charge, will start at 11:00 a.m. at 625 Scio Street (Dr. Freddie Thomas High School’s parking lot). The Walk-a-Thon (a 30-minute walk) will begin at 12 noon, and starting at Dr. Freddie Thomas High School it will travel down Central Park and along Hudson, Clifford, and Portland Avenues. Included in the festivities will be a special tribute to individuals “silenced by violence” from January, 2005 to the present, student performances, a keynote speaker, and free food and activities.

The event, which is expected to draw over 150 youth attendees, along with families and community members, was initiated by the middle and high school students of the Rochester After School Academy (RASA) at Dr. Freddie Thomas High School. It is part of a larger movement of initiatives and events, including the “A Dime for a Crime” campaign, organized and run by these students. The movement was sparked by the drastic increase of youth violence in Rochester from 2005 to 2006 . Proceeds from the event will fund the students’ first annual “Christmas Assistance Program,” in which select children of murdered victims, 25 and younger, will be “adopted” for Christmas. Along with providing children with toys, clothing, and food baskets, the youth will be exposed to community service, leadership building, and giving back to their community. Proceeds will also go towards a youth enrichment program for the summer of 2007, which will be designed to train youth as leaders while engaging them in mentoring and community service.

The Community Place of Greater Rochester, Inc. is a nonprofit provider of neighborhood-based human services that offers a variety of programs and services to individuals, families, children, the aging, and the developmentally disabled living in the greater Rochester area. CPGR was formed in 2001 after the merger of the former Lewis Street Center, Genesee Settlement House, and Eastside Community Center. Visit us on the web at www.communityplace.org.