Philadelphia Youth Basketball is about to open a state-of-the-art world class facility and a second home for thousands of young people and a resource for the community. Joining me is President and CEO of Philadelphia Youth Basketball – Kenny Holdsman. PYB is hosting an Opening Night Gala from its Alan Horwitz Sixth Man Center on Thursday January 18th. http://phillyyouthbasketball.org/openingnightgala
www.phillyyouthbasketball.org
Lavonne Nichols, CEO/Founder of Say Something Good LLC, Singer/Songwriter, Author, Women's Empowerment & Trauma Recovery Coach has authored a book Uncaged – How to Break Free From a Toxic Relationship and Rediscover Your Voice and Power. She’s also releasing an EP of new music on January 13th at World Café Live. http://www.saysomethinggoodllc.com/ Event website: https://worldcafelive.com/event/ink-sound-unleashed-lavonne-nichols-ep-and-book-release/ https://instagram.com/lavonnenichols Ig: @lavonnenichols https://www.linkedin.com/in/lavonnenichols https://www.facebook.com/officiallavonnenichols
First – there’s an event on January 13th to highlight the Black Contributions in Haddonfield. Here’s C. Adrienne Rhodes—Co-Founder, Program Administrator, The Preserving Black Haddonfield Project. The Preserving Black Haddo
www.phillyyouthbasketball.org
Lavonne Nichols, CEO/Founder of Say Something Good LLC, Singer/Songwriter, Author, Women's Empowerment & Trauma Recovery Coach has authored a book Uncaged – How to Break Free From a Toxic Relationship and Rediscover Your Voice and Power. She’s also releasing an EP of new music on January 13th at World Café Live. http://www.saysomethinggoodllc.com/ Event website: https://worldcafelive.com/event/ink-sound-unleashed-lavonne-nichols-ep-and-book-release/ https://instagram.com/lavonnenichols Ig: @lavonnenichols https://www.linkedin.com/in/lavonnenichols https://www.facebook.com/officiallavonnenichols
First – there’s an event on January 13th to highlight the Black Contributions in Haddonfield. Here’s C. Adrienne Rhodes—Co-Founder, Program Administrator, The Preserving Black Haddonfield Project. The Preserving Black Haddo
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Good morning. You're listening to Insight, a show about empowering our community.
I'm Lorraine Ballard Morrow. Many ofus have experienced toxic relationships, negative relationships.
I suffered in silence to find myselfan educated woman, career woman.
To find myself in that place,it held me in an invisible cage.
Levon Nicolls, CEO and founder ofSay Something Good, a singer, a
(00:23):
songwriter, an author, and women'sempowerment and trauma recovery coach. She's written
a book called Uncaged, How tobreak free from a toxic relationship and rediscover
your voice and power. Lavn isalso releasing an EP of new music,
We'll tell you all about It.It started out with a dream of creating
a youth athletic program that supports youngpeople in academics, leadership, and much
(00:46):
more. Ten years later, youwon't believe what Kenny Holsman and his team
at philadelphiath Basketball have built. It'struly inspiring. First, there's an event
January thirteenth to highlight black history inHaddonfield, New Jersey. Here see Adrian
Rhodes, co founder and program administratorof the Preserving Black Haddenfield Project. We
(01:07):
launched last spring a twelve site walkingtour. Our winter tour will be held
on Martin Luther King weekend Saturday,January thirteenth. We will convene at Centennial
Field, which is on Lincoln Avenueand Park Place at ten am. And
I'm grateful that we have the supportof Haddenfill Memorial High School National Honor Society
(01:29):
students that'll be supporting us at withregistration and other tour operations, and that
helps to fulfill our intergenerational, interracialapproach. We are going to be presenting
in partnership with Haddonfield Public Library EllenAlford. She's written a book called Abolition
and the Underground Railroad in South JerseyNot without a Fight. It's going to
be an informative and engaging day andthat is happening on Saturday, January thirteenth,
(01:55):
ten am at Centennial Field, LincolnAvenue and Park Place where the tour
begins and the author event at HaddenfieldBorough at two forty two Kings Highway East.
See Adrian Rhodes, co founder andprogram administrator for the Preserving Black Haddenfield
Project. The author Joel Brown haswritten The Only Thing that Stands between You
(02:17):
and Your Dream is the will totry and the belief that it is actually
possible. Well, Kenny Holtzman andhis team have plenty of will and belief.
It all started with an idea creatingan effective youth empowerment program that uses
basketball to nurture young people with mentoring, academic support, leadership training, and
(02:38):
so much more. And ten yearslater, not only is that dream realized,
but Philadelphia Youth Basketball is about toopen a state of the art,
world class facility and second home forthousands of young people and a resource for
the community. Joining me as Presidentand CEO of Philadelphia Youth Basketball, Kenny
Holsman. Our organization was launched onJune first of twenty fifteen, and we
(03:04):
fast forward to now, and youhad an idea of starting this program which
provides an opportunity for kids to playbasketball, but also more than that,
to get support, academic support,leadership support to help them evolve into successful
adults. And then you also wantedto have a building to house all this,
(03:27):
and it's right it is. Weset out almost ten years ago to
try to build a program, anorganization, and a center that would have
transformative power in the lives of thousandsof young people. And by transformative we
mean all of the supports and accessand exposure to help young people self determined
and self actualize. And that's wellmore than athletics. While basketball is an
(03:52):
amazing game and it's iconic in ourcity, we think it's just the door
open or the gateway for academic intellectualdevelopment, social and emotional learning, civic
and leadership development, personal and identityformation, and all of those elements are
going to be under the same roofat our one hundred thousand square foot six
(04:13):
man center. That is just blowingme away because we talked about this ten
years ago and you had this idea. You started this program, and the
program was without a home for somany years, and you said, well,
we need to have our home ahouse, and so you set about
raising money, you and your teamand your cohorts, and here you are,
(04:36):
and this incredible space is going tobe opening up. Tell us more
about that. Sure. So we'vebeen running programs now for eight and a
half years. Were right now inabout twenty two schools, four recreation centers,
or on college campuses in the summertime, and all of those neighborhood sites
are going to remain. They're whatwe're now going to call the spokes.
(05:00):
The hub is going to be atthe center, So we'll continue serving twelve
to thirteen hundred kids a year intheir very own neighborhoods, and then about
five thousand young people a year willreceive programming in our center. And what
we'll have there is way more expansivethan what we're now able to offer.
I wonder if you can tell usa little bit more. They'll break it
down for us. As everyone knowswhat basketball is, how to play basketball,
(05:26):
but how do you incorporate all ofthe other elements that you just described
earlier to support these young people intobecoming successful adults? How does that work?
So for starters, Lorraine, itbegins with the foundational relationship between young
people and our coach mentors. Andthose relationships are built on two pillars,
(05:48):
trust and belief in the young person'sinherent abilities and greatness. And so many
of our coach mentors are from theidentical communities and circumstances as the young people
whom we serve. So if youbegin with the premise that relationships really matter,
(06:08):
as we do, and then insideof the center, mental health and
wellness with counseling and psychotherapy, physicaltherapy, financial literacy, entrepreneurship, well
paid, well mentored work based learningexperiences, a youth multimedia lab not dissimilar
from the one you and I arenow sitting in a healthy Foods cafe.
(06:31):
Hours of operation six am to midnight, seven days a week. So we'll
have a lot of programming, andthen we'll also have the ability for young
people to just come and be andhang out what we might call the third
space or the third place, whereteenagers or even middle school kids could be
(06:54):
unsupervised by one of our coach mentorsor by their own parents or guardians,
and to just come and be ina space where they can breathe, they
can enjoy one another, and theycan hang out. Now, about ninety
percent of the young people in ourcenter are going to be involved in structured
programming. But I do think thatif there's one thing we've learned during the
pandemic, it's that the quality ofthese third spaces and places are so vital,
(07:18):
and they're disproportionately available based upon one'sneighborhood or economic circumstance. I have
read that there are many studies thatsay that to grow a successful adult from
a young person. They need mentoring, they need a sense of identity,
and they need a sense of possibility, which it seems like Youth Basketball League
(07:39):
does exactly that. I think oneof the things, and please correct me
if I'm wrong, is that you'vebeen able to also work with kids in
the suburbs to interact with some ofthe kids. Is that right? So
right now, our programming has beensquarely focused on Philadelphia kids, and in
particular young people in North Philadelphia andWest Philadelphia. When the centers open been
(08:00):
because the neighborhood of Nicetown is sogeographically accessible to any kid or family in
the city or in the entering suburbs, whether coming by bus, subway,
car train, or on foot forthose who live within walking distance of our
center, We're going to see theprogram in the center get regionalized a bit.
(08:24):
And I mean that geographically. Imean that with race, with ethnicity,
with economic situation. But our truenorth is always going to be young
people from communities of color in Philadelphia. Yeah. Yeah, I was just
mentioning that because I seem to rememberthere might have been some basketball interactions in
(08:45):
the past that allowed suburban kids tointeract with our kids here in Philadelphia,
which I always think is such agreat thing for sure. Yeah, and
it's bi directional. I think sometimespeople think that, you know, some
urban suburban interaction and is really goodbecause it gives our young people in Philadelphia
the chance to see a greener pasture, a bluer horizon, whatever it is
(09:07):
you want to call it. Butthere's real mutual benefit as well from young
people in the suburbs interacting with Phillykids and learning about their life situations and
their hopes and dreams and you knowwhat turns them on culturally and socially and
the whole bit. Yeah. Now, this has been an incredible endeavor to
(09:28):
come from an idea, a visionin your mind and those of your team's
minds to now, so how dowe continue to support the efforts at Philadelphia
Basketball. So for starters, we'vealways wanted this organization to be and to
be built of by four and withthe community, and we are really proud
(09:52):
that we have stuck steadfastly to thatboth values system and structure and that organ
philosophy and it's in many ways rootedin authenticity and racial equity and things of
that sort. So the overwhelming numberof our staff, team members, a
good portion of the board, manyof our professional service firms and vendors,
(10:16):
including Pride Enterprises, who has builtis building a thirty eight million dollars center
black owned business. We feel likeit's very integrated in the best ways.
We've had well over one thousand individualscontribute to the capital campaign. Over four
thousand individuals, foundations corporations have contributedto the organization. So money and philanthropy
(10:43):
is super important, but well beyondthat, it's the power of ambassadors and
connectors and volunteers that has really liftedus up and we think will continue to
be that. We're going to beadding an early development program, a youth
multimedia program, a special needs programfor young people with physical disabilities and unique
(11:09):
intellectual and other learning differences. Soa lot of opportunities for partnerships within the
center. We're going to have sevenco located operating partners helping to provide programmatic
functions that are well beyond our owncapabilities. So it is really a community
barn raise, if you will,and coming into our opening night gala on
(11:33):
January eighteenth, the guests and thespeakers and the presenters and people in the
building, although it'd only be aboutninety two percent done, but the people
with us, well over one thousand, will be an amazing reflection of the
Philadelphia community. And this gala.You mentioned the date, tell us the
(11:54):
specifics of where it's going to be, Well, I guess it's going to
be at the Center, But howpeople can get tickets and all those details?
Sure, so, tickets are onsale now. You can get them
through our website www. Philly YouthBasketball dot org backslash Opening night Gala tickets
(12:16):
are affordable. We also have somecomplimentary tickets to members of the community who
couldn't otherwise afford them. It's goingto start at six pm right at our
Center on Wissey Hicken Avenue in HuntingPark. The event is co chaired by
David and Halle Adelman, alongside VincentUse, our state senator and his wife,
(12:39):
the Great Sheryl Lee Ralph Hughes,Emmy Award winning actress, are presenting
sponsors Jeff and Tracy Brown and theNFI National Freight Industries Corporation. And it's
also going to coincide with the eightiethbirthday of Alan Horwitz, whose name will
live on in perpetuity on and inour center. So we're going to have
(13:03):
a number of young people and coachmentors, and people will be able to
not just enjoy one another in Philadelphiafood and drink, but also really see
the amazing range and dimension and visionof one hundred thousand square foot facility.
And while it won't be completely doneuntil May tenth, we're well far enough
(13:26):
along where you can really visualize thepower and the potency of this space.
I just will never forget I'm meetingyou and talking to you about Philadelphia Basketball
and your vision initially, and tobe sitting here across from you ten years
later to be able to talk toyou about the realization of that dream of
(13:48):
having a home for your organization.Actually a little teary eyed, because you
know, things like this really moveme and people like you truly do,
because it's about social justice in away that really makes a difference, because
you're making a difference in the livesof all these young people. And what
better investment for all of us thanto be able to invest in young people
(14:09):
the way that your organization does.If people want more information about the gala,
you mentioned it before, but let'srepeat the website or if they're interested
in becoming part of this program thatyou provide, how do they do that?
Sure? So again, the webaddress is www dot Philly Youth Basketball
(14:31):
dot org backslash Opening Night Gala.I can be reached directly by email.
K Holtzman, ho l DS man at Phillyothbasketball dot org. We are
on Twitter, now x, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and we have an
amazing staff of now not two whenwe talked about this a decade ago,
(14:56):
but twenty two. And the teamis is incredibly passionate and positive and really
interested in getting more and more Philadelphiansinvolved in the organization, not just the
gala, but going forward. AndI really appreciate your affirmation. This has
been a decade of steadfast, doggedpursuit and commitments. You know, big
(15:20):
ideas don't get brought to fruition withouta lot of grind and grit, and
for you to recognize our level ofeffort really means a lot and the degree
of impact that we're going to have. Kenny Holsman, force of nature and
co founder and CEO of Philadelphia YouthBasketball, thank you so much for coming
in and thank you for sharing thisreally extraordinary story. Of an idea that
(15:46):
is just blossomed into something that's reallymaking a huge difference in the lives of
our young people here in Philadelphia andbeyond. Thank you so much, Thank
you. I get to meet somany fabulous people, and I'm going to
be introducing one of them. WhoI met. I don't know exactly when
(16:07):
we met, a couple of maybewithin this last year. Let's put it
that way, Levon Nichols. Wemet at this wonderful conference of black women,
which was just fantastic and inspiring,and so I got to know her
that way. But what I didnot know not only is she an activist
and very involved with working in thetrauma space, and she's also a performer
(16:30):
and an author, and we're goingto talk about all those different things.
She's multi talented. Levon Nichols,thank you so much for joining us here
today. Lorraine, thank you somuch for having me. I am so
delighted to have you because you arewell, you're multi talented. You have
many different hats that you wear,So let's talk about let's talk about the
first hat, your career, job, thing that you do. So I
(16:52):
have a business club, say somethinggood and so I realized early on that
I use my voice to help empowerpeople, and so I've been able to
have a business where I do thatthere's coaching involved in that. I'm also
able to do that in the communityorganizing space and do that for a foundation
where I'm able to empower volunteers acrossthe country. So I'm using my voice
(17:18):
all the time, while you're usingyour voice in more ways than one.
Because you are also a singer andperformance artist, and you have something coming
up. Tell us about the CDthat we can all get a chance to
appreciate. Tell us. Yeah.So in January, January thirteenth, I'll
actually be having events and the musicwill be available that night at twelve o'clock,
(17:41):
I'll be introducing my EP. I'msuper excited to introduce four new songs
that really get to the heart ofwho I am. It is very diverse,
and so I am really excited tobe able to do an EP and
book release at World Cafe Live Januarythirteenth and really bring people who have been
(18:02):
supportive to me throughout my journey asa singer who sings in churches, sings
at events, and recording now musicand people who have kind of you know,
been there for me really be ableto bring them all together and celebrate.
Well, what I've heard of yourmusic, it's very there's a very
positive message behind the music that youperform in. And I wonder if you
(18:22):
can tell us a little more aboutsome of the inspiration for the music that
you create. That's why I createdthe business Say Something Good, because I
really felt like it is my missionwhat God has you know, put in
me, to spread positivity, ofcourse, spread the good news, and
to really be intentional about what I'msinging. And so my whole brand is
(18:44):
about uplifting and empowering people. Sowhen I'm singing, it's always going to
be positive, it's always going tohave a message behind it. People can
find, you know, joy andhope that they're not alone in the message
of my music is very important becausethe world is hurting and we've been through
a lot of things COVID and alot of just term oil, and I
(19:06):
think that it's important for people whohave a platform to be intentional about what
comes out of their mouth, andthey should always be speaking good things and
having something to give to the world. Yeah, Well, one other good
thing that you're giving to the worldis this book called Uncaged How to break
free from a toxic relationship and rediscoveryour voice and power. So many of
(19:26):
us, I'm saying in the pastbecause now I'm in an awesome relationship.
However, it's not unusual for womento be engaged in toxic relationships or anybody
men too. And I wonder tellus about this book, what was the
genesis of it? Why did youdecide to write this book? Yeah,
and so, just like you said, many of us have experienced toxic relationships,
(19:49):
negative relationships, and I was oneof those people. I suffered in
silence. One of those things isbecause I was a leader, and I
was a public face of doing radio, doing all these and to find myself
an educated woman, career woman,to find myself in that place, it
held me in an invisible cage.When I was like, Okay, I
(20:10):
got to get out of this.God, you know, I was What
kept me was my faith and Godgave me steps and at that time I
didn't realize that, you know,this would turn into a book, but
he gave me very clear steps onhow to get out. Because I was
like, Okay, God, I'mdone with this. I need to get
out and then he was like,you got to do this, and you
got to do this, and hestarted to say, Okay, you have
(20:32):
to reintegrate yourself into society again.Because I had been kind of pulled away
from society. I didn't know howto really engage and really be honest about
what I was going through. Ihad to learn that I had to forgive
myself, and so it gave meall these steps. And once I got
to where I felt like I amlevn and better, I realized that I
had to share this with other people. I couldn't hold onto this because sometimes
(20:55):
we suffer and Okay, we've gottenout of the situation, but it takes
us sometimes years and years and years. And I realized that my situation was
accelerated, my healing was accelerated bythese steps. And I really wanted to
make sure that people had a practicalguide where they can pick up this book,
read those steps, and start implementingthings right away to help them heal.
(21:17):
Maybe just a little bit faster thanmaybe taking ten years to heal from
something. Maybe we can escalate thathealing so they can get back to living
a life that's fulfilling, that makesthem proud again. Yeah, I think
you make such an important point,and that is that you can on the
outside, you can look very successful, and when it comes to emotional abuse
(21:37):
or any kind of abuse, ithappens to everybody in every walk of life,
and I think that the challenges sometimespeople as you mentioned and experienced,
feel isolated, right, because that'sthe nature of toxic relationships. It's to
cut you off from all your supportand all your friends and all your friendships.
What was the first step that youtook. The first step was really
(22:02):
accepting, accepting what had happened,accepting what I had allowed, realizing that,
you know, I had a partto play in this, And if
I just kept saying that it wasyou know, the other person was them,
them, them, then I'm notreally taking ownership of the situation.
I'm not really understanding that where Iwas, what I was open to,
(22:23):
accepting my part, and what Ineeded to now look forward to. Right.
It's about breaking this cycle. Yeah, And what you said earlier is
self forgiveness. Yeah, because weall we all go through it at some
point in our lives, and oftentimesas women, we blame ourselves. So
we take on the responsibility and certainlyacknowledging our part is part of it,
(22:48):
but also forgiving ourselves is so important. Yes, there's definitely a chapter in
their forgiveness and forgiveness is forgiving myself. It's huge, huge as a leader,
finding myself and that was huge,But then finding forgiveness towards the other
person, and that is not easy. That is not easy, especially when
(23:08):
you feel like you know, youwere almost out of here in every way
imaginable. It's not easy, butit's really for you. I mean,
you know, it's it's it's itis about letting it go. But forgiveness
is really, you know, aboutyou moving past it and removing all of
the barriers. And it's not it'snot easy, but you know, walking
(23:33):
through that, I realized that Iwas holding on to stuff by not forgiving
that person. And that's that's athat's a faith walk, Yeah, faith
walk, absolutely, And yet alsoit's about healing the trauma a relationship,
a toxic relationship. It doesn't endwhen you end it, right, it
is because there's a lot that's there, the chain that needs to be healed.
(23:56):
So how did you go about healingfrom the trump? Really tapping into
my faith once I was out Icould really you know, worship God and
tap into that community. And thenI also really went to the resources that
I knew therapy. I am anadvocate for people getting professional help. We
have a lot of skilled people,and I believe that God empowers people and
(24:18):
gives them wisdom to help us throughthings. And so I am blessed that
I, you know, tapped intoa Christian therapy organization and they were very
supportive, and so I used allof the tools that I had at my
disposal my faith. I really learnedabout trauma and toxic relationships and the things
(24:38):
that come along with it, theresidual things that you know, happen.
So I went I did a deepdive into just what I had experienced and
how to get out, how toreclaim my voice again, and seeking professional
help was very very key in it. I'm so glad you said that because
so many of us are reluctant toseek he help, especially in communities of
(25:02):
color. We often are told prayit away, yeah, you know,
and that can be good, andobviously there is a there's a role for
that. But professional help and especiallyculturally competent professional health, and there really
are resources I know that Fun Timesmagaines, Yes, yes, I thought
that's where you were going, andI went there because Fun Times Magazine has
(25:25):
the most amazing and comprehensive list oftherapists of color that people can take advantage
of. Because it really does.It matters, It really does, it
really does. And I am proudto be a part of the Fun Times
Magazine family, and so we arereally putting people in the right direction.
We have done the work. We'vegiven you. You know a lot of
people that you can vet and findthe support that you need. We also
(25:49):
do help with nine to eighty eightand pushing people to the suicide prevention hotlines
because this thing is serious and Ireally want to push that you don't have
to do it alone. A lotof times people don't talk about it,
and when you don't talk about it, people other people think, Oh,
I'm just in this by myself.And so that's why it's really important for
(26:11):
me to put it in my music, for me to put in my book
and scream it from the rooftops.There is life after trauma. There is
life after a toxic relationship, andyou're not alone. There's resources out there
for you and Fun Times and beingable to share this here is just one
of those ways. If people wouldlike to get a copy of your book,
Uncaged, how to break fore youfrom a toxic relationship and rediscover your
(26:32):
voice and power. How did theydo that? Well? It is on
my website at say Something Good LLCdot com. If you register, if
you get the book there, you'llalso get some other resources that I will
send to you. I'll also havean opportunity to connect with you. But
you can also get it on allof the platforms where books are sold,
Amazon, Barnes, and Nobles.So the book is everywhere, and we
(26:55):
will be doing a audio version ofit, and so that will be coming
out during January during that release aswell, and remind us again about your
EP debut that's coming out the day, the time, where and where people
can get tickets. Yes, it'sgoing to be at World Cafe Live January
(27:15):
thirteenth. Doors will open up atsix o'clock and the show will start at
seven point thirty. It's going tobe a great, great time. There
will be music, there's going tobe a lot of creativity and opportunity to
really just have a good time andexperience creativity and healing. Colliding together,
and so I am really excited andhope that everyone is able to come out
(27:37):
spread the word for people who youwant to hear good music is for that,
It's for people who want to bein a positive environment and meet some
new people. And it's for youto be able to get some resources because
I'm going to have a lot ofthings to share it with everyone. Fantastic,
Well, thank you so much forjoining us here today. Levon Nichols
CEO and founder of Say Something GoodLLC. She's a singer and songwriter,
(27:57):
an author, a women empowerment andtrauma recovery coach and uh, once again,
what's your website? It is SaySomething Good llc dot com. Great,
and we're going to close out byplaying a tune from you that you
recorded previously. Yes, tell uswhat that tune is. It's called I
(28:17):
Choose to Win. And that wasa declaration that, you know, no
matter what's going on in my lifein your life, that we're making it
an intentional decision that we're going towin, and that we are going to
put our energy into striving and fightingand moving forward and never allowing you know,
the negativity to overwhelm us. Sowe're choosing to win. Great message.
(28:38):
Thank you so much, Thank you. Helloe is in the power of
them, So let's speak lives onthe show. Every day it brings new
us. So my love OUTA,this is my game. I too the
(29:06):
way it's all unser all inside him, the way, I the way,
(29:30):
it's all answer silence. You canlisten to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing inkeyword Community. You can also listen on
the iHeartRadio app keyword Lorraine with oneR. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram
(29:52):
at Lorraine Ballad. I'm Lorraine BalladMorrow and I stand for service to our
community and media that empowers. Whatwill you stand for? You've been listening
to Insight and thank you. OhI just too win
Good morning. You're listening to Insight, a show about empowering our community.
I'm Lorraine Ballard Morrow. Many ofus have experienced toxic relationships, negative relationships.
I suffered in silence to find myselfan educated woman, career woman.
To find myself in that place,it held me in an invisible cage.
Levon Nicolls, CEO and founder ofSay Something Good, a singer, a
(00:23):
songwriter, an author, and women'sempowerment and trauma recovery coach. She's written
a book called Uncaged, How tobreak free from a toxic relationship and rediscover
your voice and power. Lavn isalso releasing an EP of new music,
We'll tell you all about It.It started out with a dream of creating
a youth athletic program that supports youngpeople in academics, leadership, and much
(00:46):
more. Ten years later, youwon't believe what Kenny Holsman and his team
at philadelphiath Basketball have built. It'struly inspiring. First, there's an event
January thirteenth to highlight black history inHaddonfield, New Jersey. Here see Adrian
Rhodes, co founder and program administratorof the Preserving Black Haddenfield Project. We
(01:07):
launched last spring a twelve site walkingtour. Our winter tour will be held
on Martin Luther King weekend Saturday,January thirteenth. We will convene at Centennial
Field, which is on Lincoln Avenueand Park Place at ten am. And
I'm grateful that we have the supportof Haddenfill Memorial High School National Honor Society
(01:29):
students that'll be supporting us at withregistration and other tour operations, and that
helps to fulfill our intergenerational, interracialapproach. We are going to be presenting
in partnership with Haddonfield Public Library EllenAlford. She's written a book called Abolition
and the Underground Railroad in South JerseyNot without a Fight. It's going to
be an informative and engaging day andthat is happening on Saturday, January thirteenth,
(01:55):
ten am at Centennial Field, LincolnAvenue and Park Place where the tour
begins and the author event at HaddenfieldBorough at two forty two Kings Highway East.
See Adrian Rhodes, co founder andprogram administrator for the Preserving Black Haddenfield
Project. The author Joel Brown haswritten The Only Thing that Stands between You
(02:17):
and Your Dream is the will totry and the belief that it is actually
possible. Well, Kenny Holtzman andhis team have plenty of will and belief.
It all started with an idea creatingan effective youth empowerment program that uses
basketball to nurture young people with mentoring, academic support, leadership training, and
(02:38):
so much more. And ten yearslater, not only is that dream realized,
but Philadelphia Youth Basketball is about toopen a state of the art,
world class facility and second home forthousands of young people and a resource for
the community. Joining me as Presidentand CEO of Philadelphia Youth Basketball, Kenny
Holsman. Our organization was launched onJune first of twenty fifteen, and we
(03:04):
fast forward to now, and youhad an idea of starting this program which
provides an opportunity for kids to playbasketball, but also more than that,
to get support, academic support,leadership support to help them evolve into successful
adults. And then you also wantedto have a building to house all this,
(03:27):
and it's right it is. Weset out almost ten years ago to
try to build a program, anorganization, and a center that would have
transformative power in the lives of thousandsof young people. And by transformative we
mean all of the supports and accessand exposure to help young people self determined
and self actualize. And that's wellmore than athletics. While basketball is an
(03:52):
amazing game and it's iconic in ourcity, we think it's just the door
open or the gateway for academic intellectualdevelopment, social and emotional learning, civic
and leadership development, personal and identityformation, and all of those elements are
going to be under the same roofat our one hundred thousand square foot six
(04:13):
man center. That is just blowingme away because we talked about this ten
years ago and you had this idea. You started this program, and the
program was without a home for somany years, and you said, well,
we need to have our home ahouse, and so you set about
raising money, you and your teamand your cohorts, and here you are,
(04:36):
and this incredible space is going tobe opening up. Tell us more
about that. Sure. So we'vebeen running programs now for eight and a
half years. Were right now inabout twenty two schools, four recreation centers,
or on college campuses in the summertime, and all of those neighborhood sites
are going to remain. They're whatwe're now going to call the spokes.
(05:00):
The hub is going to be atthe center, So we'll continue serving twelve
to thirteen hundred kids a year intheir very own neighborhoods, and then about
five thousand young people a year willreceive programming in our center. And what
we'll have there is way more expansivethan what we're now able to offer.
I wonder if you can tell usa little bit more. They'll break it
down for us. As everyone knowswhat basketball is, how to play basketball,
(05:26):
but how do you incorporate all ofthe other elements that you just described
earlier to support these young people intobecoming successful adults? How does that work?
So for starters, Lorraine, itbegins with the foundational relationship between young
people and our coach mentors. Andthose relationships are built on two pillars,
(05:48):
trust and belief in the young person'sinherent abilities and greatness. And so many
of our coach mentors are from theidentical communities and circumstances as the young people
whom we serve. So if youbegin with the premise that relationships really matter,
(06:08):
as we do, and then insideof the center, mental health and
wellness with counseling and psychotherapy, physicaltherapy, financial literacy, entrepreneurship, well
paid, well mentored work based learningexperiences, a youth multimedia lab not dissimilar
from the one you and I arenow sitting in a healthy Foods cafe.
(06:31):
Hours of operation six am to midnight, seven days a week. So we'll
have a lot of programming, andthen we'll also have the ability for young
people to just come and be andhang out what we might call the third
space or the third place, whereteenagers or even middle school kids could be
(06:54):
unsupervised by one of our coach mentorsor by their own parents or guardians,
and to just come and be ina space where they can breathe, they
can enjoy one another, and theycan hang out. Now, about ninety
percent of the young people in ourcenter are going to be involved in structured
programming. But I do think thatif there's one thing we've learned during the
pandemic, it's that the quality ofthese third spaces and places are so vital,
(07:18):
and they're disproportionately available based upon one'sneighborhood or economic circumstance. I have
read that there are many studies thatsay that to grow a successful adult from
a young person. They need mentoring, they need a sense of identity,
and they need a sense of possibility, which it seems like Youth Basketball League
(07:39):
does exactly that. I think oneof the things, and please correct me
if I'm wrong, is that you'vebeen able to also work with kids in
the suburbs to interact with some ofthe kids. Is that right? So
right now, our programming has beensquarely focused on Philadelphia kids, and in
particular young people in North Philadelphia andWest Philadelphia. When the centers open been
(08:00):
because the neighborhood of Nicetown is sogeographically accessible to any kid or family in
the city or in the entering suburbs, whether coming by bus, subway,
car train, or on foot forthose who live within walking distance of our
center, We're going to see theprogram in the center get regionalized a bit.
(08:24):
And I mean that geographically. Imean that with race, with ethnicity,
with economic situation. But our truenorth is always going to be young
people from communities of color in Philadelphia. Yeah. Yeah, I was just
mentioning that because I seem to rememberthere might have been some basketball interactions in
(08:45):
the past that allowed suburban kids tointeract with our kids here in Philadelphia,
which I always think is such agreat thing for sure. Yeah, and
it's bi directional. I think sometimespeople think that, you know, some
urban suburban interaction and is really goodbecause it gives our young people in Philadelphia
the chance to see a greener pasture, a bluer horizon, whatever it is
(09:07):
you want to call it. Butthere's real mutual benefit as well from young
people in the suburbs interacting with Phillykids and learning about their life situations and
their hopes and dreams and you knowwhat turns them on culturally and socially and
the whole bit. Yeah. Now, this has been an incredible endeavor to
(09:28):
come from an idea, a visionin your mind and those of your team's
minds to now, so how dowe continue to support the efforts at Philadelphia
Basketball. So for starters, we'vealways wanted this organization to be and to
be built of by four and withthe community, and we are really proud
(09:52):
that we have stuck steadfastly to thatboth values system and structure and that organ
philosophy and it's in many ways rootedin authenticity and racial equity and things of
that sort. So the overwhelming numberof our staff, team members, a
good portion of the board, manyof our professional service firms and vendors,
(10:16):
including Pride Enterprises, who has builtis building a thirty eight million dollars center
black owned business. We feel likeit's very integrated in the best ways.
We've had well over one thousand individualscontribute to the capital campaign. Over four
thousand individuals, foundations corporations have contributedto the organization. So money and philanthropy
(10:43):
is super important, but well beyondthat, it's the power of ambassadors and
connectors and volunteers that has really liftedus up and we think will continue to
be that. We're going to beadding an early development program, a youth
multimedia program, a special needs programfor young people with physical disabilities and unique
(11:09):
intellectual and other learning differences. Soa lot of opportunities for partnerships within the
center. We're going to have sevenco located operating partners helping to provide programmatic
functions that are well beyond our owncapabilities. So it is really a community
barn raise, if you will,and coming into our opening night gala on
(11:33):
January eighteenth, the guests and thespeakers and the presenters and people in the
building, although it'd only be aboutninety two percent done, but the people
with us, well over one thousand, will be an amazing reflection of the
Philadelphia community. And this gala.You mentioned the date, tell us the
(11:54):
specifics of where it's going to be, Well, I guess it's going to
be at the Center, But howpeople can get tickets and all those details?
Sure, so, tickets are onsale now. You can get them
through our website www. Philly YouthBasketball dot org backslash Opening night Gala tickets
(12:16):
are affordable. We also have somecomplimentary tickets to members of the community who
couldn't otherwise afford them. It's goingto start at six pm right at our
Center on Wissey Hicken Avenue in HuntingPark. The event is co chaired by
David and Halle Adelman, alongside VincentUse, our state senator and his wife,
(12:39):
the Great Sheryl Lee Ralph Hughes,Emmy Award winning actress, are presenting
sponsors Jeff and Tracy Brown and theNFI National Freight Industries Corporation. And it's
also going to coincide with the eightiethbirthday of Alan Horwitz, whose name will
live on in perpetuity on and inour center. So we're going to have
(13:03):
a number of young people and coachmentors, and people will be able to
not just enjoy one another in Philadelphiafood and drink, but also really see
the amazing range and dimension and visionof one hundred thousand square foot facility.
And while it won't be completely doneuntil May tenth, we're well far enough
(13:26):
along where you can really visualize thepower and the potency of this space.
I just will never forget I'm meetingyou and talking to you about Philadelphia Basketball
and your vision initially, and tobe sitting here across from you ten years
later to be able to talk toyou about the realization of that dream of
(13:48):
having a home for your organization.Actually a little teary eyed, because you
know, things like this really moveme and people like you truly do,
because it's about social justice in away that really makes a difference, because
you're making a difference in the livesof all these young people. And what
better investment for all of us thanto be able to invest in young people
(14:09):
the way that your organization does.If people want more information about the gala,
you mentioned it before, but let'srepeat the website or if they're interested
in becoming part of this program thatyou provide, how do they do that?
Sure? So again, the webaddress is www dot Philly Youth Basketball
(14:31):
dot org backslash Opening Night Gala.I can be reached directly by email.
K Holtzman, ho l DS man at Phillyothbasketball dot org. We are
on Twitter, now x, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and we have an
amazing staff of now not two whenwe talked about this a decade ago,
(14:56):
but twenty two. And the teamis is incredibly passionate and positive and really
interested in getting more and more Philadelphiansinvolved in the organization, not just the
gala, but going forward. AndI really appreciate your affirmation. This has
been a decade of steadfast, doggedpursuit and commitments. You know, big
(15:20):
ideas don't get brought to fruition withouta lot of grind and grit, and
for you to recognize our level ofeffort really means a lot and the degree
of impact that we're going to have. Kenny Holsman, force of nature and
co founder and CEO of Philadelphia YouthBasketball, thank you so much for coming
in and thank you for sharing thisreally extraordinary story. Of an idea that
(15:46):
is just blossomed into something that's reallymaking a huge difference in the lives of
our young people here in Philadelphia andbeyond. Thank you so much, Thank
you. I get to meet somany fabulous people, and I'm going to
be introducing one of them. WhoI met. I don't know exactly when
(16:07):
we met, a couple of maybewithin this last year. Let's put it
that way, Levon Nichols. Wemet at this wonderful conference of black women,
which was just fantastic and inspiring,and so I got to know her
that way. But what I didnot know not only is she an activist
and very involved with working in thetrauma space, and she's also a performer
(16:30):
and an author, and we're goingto talk about all those different things.
She's multi talented. Levon Nichols,thank you so much for joining us here
today. Lorraine, thank you somuch for having me. I am so
delighted to have you because you arewell, you're multi talented. You have
many different hats that you wear,So let's talk about let's talk about the
first hat, your career, job, thing that you do. So I
(16:52):
have a business club, say somethinggood and so I realized early on that
I use my voice to help empowerpeople, and so I've been able to
have a business where I do thatthere's coaching involved in that. I'm also
able to do that in the communityorganizing space and do that for a foundation
where I'm able to empower volunteers acrossthe country. So I'm using my voice
(17:18):
all the time, while you're usingyour voice in more ways than one.
Because you are also a singer andperformance artist, and you have something coming
up. Tell us about the CDthat we can all get a chance to
appreciate. Tell us. Yeah.So in January, January thirteenth, I'll
actually be having events and the musicwill be available that night at twelve o'clock,
(17:41):
I'll be introducing my EP. I'msuper excited to introduce four new songs
that really get to the heart ofwho I am. It is very diverse,
and so I am really excited tobe able to do an EP and
book release at World Cafe Live Januarythirteenth and really bring people who have been
(18:02):
supportive to me throughout my journey asa singer who sings in churches, sings
at events, and recording now musicand people who have kind of you know,
been there for me really be ableto bring them all together and celebrate.
Well, what I've heard of yourmusic, it's very there's a very
positive message behind the music that youperform in. And I wonder if you
(18:22):
can tell us a little more aboutsome of the inspiration for the music that
you create. That's why I createdthe business Say Something Good, because I
really felt like it is my missionwhat God has you know, put in
me, to spread positivity, ofcourse, spread the good news, and
to really be intentional about what I'msinging. And so my whole brand is
(18:44):
about uplifting and empowering people. Sowhen I'm singing, it's always going to
be positive, it's always going tohave a message behind it. People can
find, you know, joy andhope that they're not alone in the message
of my music is very important becausethe world is hurting and we've been through
a lot of things COVID and alot of just term oil, and I
(19:06):
think that it's important for people whohave a platform to be intentional about what
comes out of their mouth, andthey should always be speaking good things and
having something to give to the world. Yeah, Well, one other good
thing that you're giving to the worldis this book called Uncaged How to break
free from a toxic relationship and rediscoveryour voice and power. So many of
(19:26):
us, I'm saying in the pastbecause now I'm in an awesome relationship.
However, it's not unusual for womento be engaged in toxic relationships or anybody
men too. And I wonder tellus about this book, what was the
genesis of it? Why did youdecide to write this book? Yeah,
and so, just like you said, many of us have experienced toxic relationships,
(19:49):
negative relationships, and I was oneof those people. I suffered in
silence. One of those things isbecause I was a leader, and I
was a public face of doing radio, doing all these and to find myself
an educated woman, career woman,to find myself in that place, it
held me in an invisible cage.When I was like, Okay, I
(20:10):
got to get out of this.God, you know, I was What
kept me was my faith and Godgave me steps and at that time I
didn't realize that, you know,this would turn into a book, but
he gave me very clear steps onhow to get out. Because I was
like, Okay, God, I'mdone with this. I need to get
out and then he was like,you got to do this, and you
got to do this, and hestarted to say, Okay, you have
(20:32):
to reintegrate yourself into society again.Because I had been kind of pulled away
from society. I didn't know howto really engage and really be honest about
what I was going through. Ihad to learn that I had to forgive
myself, and so it gave meall these steps. And once I got
to where I felt like I amlevn and better, I realized that I
had to share this with other people. I couldn't hold onto this because sometimes
(20:55):
we suffer and Okay, we've gottenout of the situation, but it takes
us sometimes years and years and years. And I realized that my situation was
accelerated, my healing was accelerated bythese steps. And I really wanted to
make sure that people had a practicalguide where they can pick up this book,
read those steps, and start implementingthings right away to help them heal.
(21:17):
Maybe just a little bit faster thanmaybe taking ten years to heal from
something. Maybe we can escalate thathealing so they can get back to living
a life that's fulfilling, that makesthem proud again. Yeah, I think
you make such an important point,and that is that you can on the
outside, you can look very successful, and when it comes to emotional abuse
(21:37):
or any kind of abuse, ithappens to everybody in every walk of life,
and I think that the challenges sometimespeople as you mentioned and experienced,
feel isolated, right, because that'sthe nature of toxic relationships. It's to
cut you off from all your supportand all your friends and all your friendships.
What was the first step that youtook. The first step was really
(22:02):
accepting, accepting what had happened,accepting what I had allowed, realizing that,
you know, I had a partto play in this, And if
I just kept saying that it wasyou know, the other person was them,
them, them, then I'm notreally taking ownership of the situation.
I'm not really understanding that where Iwas, what I was open to,
(22:23):
accepting my part, and what Ineeded to now look forward to. Right.
It's about breaking this cycle. Yeah, And what you said earlier is
self forgiveness. Yeah, because weall we all go through it at some
point in our lives, and oftentimesas women, we blame ourselves. So
we take on the responsibility and certainlyacknowledging our part is part of it,
(22:48):
but also forgiving ourselves is so important. Yes, there's definitely a chapter in
their forgiveness and forgiveness is forgiving myself. It's huge, huge as a leader,
finding myself and that was huge,But then finding forgiveness towards the other
person, and that is not easy. That is not easy, especially when
(23:08):
you feel like you know, youwere almost out of here in every way
imaginable. It's not easy, butit's really for you. I mean,
you know, it's it's it's itis about letting it go. But forgiveness
is really, you know, aboutyou moving past it and removing all of
the barriers. And it's not it'snot easy, but you know, walking
(23:33):
through that, I realized that Iwas holding on to stuff by not forgiving
that person. And that's that's athat's a faith walk, Yeah, faith
walk, absolutely, And yet alsoit's about healing the trauma a relationship,
a toxic relationship. It doesn't endwhen you end it, right, it
is because there's a lot that's there, the chain that needs to be healed.
(23:56):
So how did you go about healingfrom the trump? Really tapping into
my faith once I was out Icould really you know, worship God and
tap into that community. And thenI also really went to the resources that
I knew therapy. I am anadvocate for people getting professional help. We
have a lot of skilled people,and I believe that God empowers people and
(24:18):
gives them wisdom to help us throughthings. And so I am blessed that
I, you know, tapped intoa Christian therapy organization and they were very
supportive, and so I used allof the tools that I had at my
disposal my faith. I really learnedabout trauma and toxic relationships and the things
(24:38):
that come along with it, theresidual things that you know, happen.
So I went I did a deepdive into just what I had experienced and
how to get out, how toreclaim my voice again, and seeking professional
help was very very key in it. I'm so glad you said that because
so many of us are reluctant toseek he help, especially in communities of
(25:02):
color. We often are told prayit away, yeah, you know,
and that can be good, andobviously there is a there's a role for
that. But professional help and especiallyculturally competent professional health, and there really
are resources I know that Fun Timesmagaines, Yes, yes, I thought
that's where you were going, andI went there because Fun Times Magazine has
(25:25):
the most amazing and comprehensive list oftherapists of color that people can take advantage
of. Because it really does.It matters, It really does, it
really does. And I am proudto be a part of the Fun Times
Magazine family, and so we arereally putting people in the right direction.
We have done the work. We'vegiven you. You know a lot of
people that you can vet and findthe support that you need. We also
(25:49):
do help with nine to eighty eightand pushing people to the suicide prevention hotlines
because this thing is serious and Ireally want to push that you don't have
to do it alone. A lotof times people don't talk about it,
and when you don't talk about it, people other people think, Oh,
I'm just in this by myself.And so that's why it's really important for
(26:11):
me to put it in my music, for me to put in my book
and scream it from the rooftops.There is life after trauma. There is
life after a toxic relationship, andyou're not alone. There's resources out there
for you and Fun Times and beingable to share this here is just one
of those ways. If people wouldlike to get a copy of your book,
Uncaged, how to break fore youfrom a toxic relationship and rediscover your
(26:32):
voice and power. How did theydo that? Well? It is on
my website at say Something Good LLCdot com. If you register, if
you get the book there, you'llalso get some other resources that I will
send to you. I'll also havean opportunity to connect with you. But
you can also get it on allof the platforms where books are sold,
Amazon, Barnes, and Nobles.So the book is everywhere, and we
(26:55):
will be doing a audio version ofit, and so that will be coming
out during January during that release aswell, and remind us again about your
EP debut that's coming out the day, the time, where and where people
can get tickets. Yes, it'sgoing to be at World Cafe Live January
(27:15):
thirteenth. Doors will open up atsix o'clock and the show will start at
seven point thirty. It's going tobe a great, great time. There
will be music, there's going tobe a lot of creativity and opportunity to
really just have a good time andexperience creativity and healing. Colliding together,
and so I am really excited andhope that everyone is able to come out
(27:37):
spread the word for people who youwant to hear good music is for that,
It's for people who want to bein a positive environment and meet some
new people. And it's for youto be able to get some resources because
I'm going to have a lot ofthings to share it with everyone. Fantastic,
Well, thank you so much forjoining us here today. Levon Nichols
CEO and founder of Say Something GoodLLC. She's a singer and songwriter,
(27:57):
an author, a women empowerment andtrauma recovery coach and uh, once again,
what's your website? It is SaySomething Good llc dot com. Great,
and we're going to close out byplaying a tune from you that you
recorded previously. Yes, tell uswhat that tune is. It's called I
(28:17):
Choose to Win. And that wasa declaration that, you know, no
matter what's going on in my lifein your life, that we're making it
an intentional decision that we're going towin, and that we are going to
put our energy into striving and fightingand moving forward and never allowing you know,
the negativity to overwhelm us. Sowe're choosing to win. Great message.
(28:38):
Thank you so much, Thank you. Helloe is in the power of
them, So let's speak lives onthe show. Every day it brings new
us. So my love OUTA,this is my game. I too the
(29:06):
way it's all unser all inside him, the way, I the way,
(29:30):
it's all answer silence. You canlisten to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing inkeyword Community. You can also listen on
the iHeartRadio app keyword Lorraine with oneR. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram
(29:52):
at Lorraine Ballad. I'm Lorraine BalladMorrow and I stand for service to our
community and media that empowers. Whatwill you stand for? You've been listening
to Insight and thank you. OhI just too win
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