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
Chineze Nwagbo
Director, PeacePlayers Baltimore
Location: Baltimore
Email: cnwagbo@peaceplayers.org
Chineze Nwagbo started her basketball career at Duval Senior High School, in Lanham, Maryland, where she is recognized as a four-year varsity letter recipient and two-time team captain. Her honors include 2 back-to-back State Championship Titles, All-American Honorable Mention, All-County First Team, All-Gazette, USA Today’s Most Improved and Most Important Player to Scout in Maryland, amongst a plethora of other accolades.
She is a former Syracuse University student-athlete, who earned her Business of Science degree in Biology. Shortly after graduating from Syracuse, Chinny went on to play all over the world as an International Professional Basketball Player for 11 years. She has played in various countries such as Spain (6-years), Chile, Brazil, Poland (3-years), Portugal, Israel, where she afforded 4 most valuable player (MVP) Titles, appearances in championship games, and a special appearance in the World Championship Games in 2006, representing her parent’s native country Nigeria.
After her retirement from basketball in 2016, Chinny ventured to new horizons working for the NBA, in China, developing grassroots implementation of NBA based basketball curriculum in various areas of Jr. NBA programs, also for the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders developmental camps, and has been brought on to work with the Atlanta Hawks, NY Knicks, Washington Wizards, and the National Basketball Players Association as a youth development coach and mentor.
She is also a Sports Diplomat (Envoy) for the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Sports Diplomacy program, which was designed to use platforms in sports as transformative power to create social change in global communities around the world by bridging divides, creating cultural understanding, supporting women’s empowerment (& gender equality), advocating safe environments for kids with disabilities to play, and championing what America stands for.
As an Envoy, Chinny has traveled to various parts of the world, building relations with a myriad of different U.S. Embassies, sports federations, administrators, coaches, and players. She has also dedicated her time as a Motivational Speaker to various youth programs and amazing non-profits geared toward providing resources for underprivileged underserved inner-city kids around the world. In her spare time, she has appeared on New Channel 8’s SportsTalk show as a guest sports analyst and hopes to play an instrumental role in the growth of the game, especially serving as a role model for young girls.
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
