PeacePlayers engages Baltimore youth across the different quadrants of Baltimore in sustained, sports-based after-school programming led by committed and effective local coaches.
Combining basketball with leadership development and peace education, our program helps young people develop the skills, attitudes and behaviors that empower them to engage conflict in positive ways and emerge from the program as leaders in their communities.
creating youth-led strategies to bridge societal divides and create institutional and structural change within the city
BALTIMORE
has the lowest rate of mobility out of poverty in the country, a reality that is perpetuated by the fact that communities of a certain racial makeup are not given the same resources or attention as others.
as much economic investment in Baltimore flows into neighborhoods that are majority non-Black compared to those that are more than 85 percent Black. (Urban Institute)
The aftermath of redlining and other discriminatory practices is still felt in communities of color in the city of Baltimore today. PeacePlayers addresses this disparity by providing exposure, access, opportunity and a chance for participants to find and grow their voice so that they can make sure their communities are no longer overlooked.
Our Programming
PeacePlayers Baltimore, within a nationwide network, engages over 75 youth, ages 8-18, in year-round and multi-year basketball training, conflict resolution education and leadership development activities. Programs are divided as follows:
Summer Camp
PeacePlayers offers an 8-week basketball summer camp for youth ages 10-18. Summer programming is a combination of basketball skills development and experiential learning activities. Summer camp serves as an added enrichment program for youth that allows them to experience the best of our basketball and leadership programming.
Peace League
Peace League is an after-school leadership through sports program serving youth ages 8-13. Peace League creates a safe space for youth to have fun and build friendships with peers across community divides, as well as opportunities to access positive, caring role models in their coaches. Peace League is offered in the Fall (September through December) and Spring (February through June). Sessions, which take place 1-2 times a week, include a combination of leadership workshops and basketball drills. Cities also host Twinning events that bring together youth in the Peace League program.
Our Impact
Youth Reached Since
Launch of Program
Upcoming events
Our Team
Rashawn Martin
Program Coordinator, PeacePlayers Baltimore
Location: Baltimore
Email: rmartin@peaceplayers.org
Rashawn Martin was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, and has attended Baltimore inner-city school systems all her life! As an outstanding student at the top school in her city, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, she accomplished many personal and academic accolades. Her older brother Raheem Martin has played a pivotal role in her upbringing related to sports, providing enthusiasm for athletics and a competitive spirit that Rashawn has mimicked throughout her life. As a result, she excelled in many different sports in high school, such as in indoor and outdoor track & field, and dominated in chess.
Rashawn‘s ability to align her purpose with destiny has positioned her throughout life. Her indomitable will to succeed and desire to persevere in the face of adversity allowed her to acquire an undergraduate degree in criminal justice and a minor in philosophy. She currently serves as the Program Coordinator of Peaceplayers Baltimore while obtaining her Master’s in Negotiations and Conflict Management at the University of Baltimore.
She is very excited to be a part of the team and help build capacity, as this fulfills both her lifelong desire to make a difference in Baltimore and her primary passion for building developing youth into future leaders and problem solvers.
Our LOCAL Partners
Baltimore city public schools
Boys and girls club of park heights
Langston Hughes Community Center
Oliver
Community
Center
Park Heights Renaissance
Jewish Women’s Giving Foundation
