A constant figure in the D.C. community, the Washington Wizards Etan Thomas continued to give back to D.C.'s youth on May 5th when he joined reigning Miss Black District of Columbia 2009, Breyuna Williams, on her Think Big: You Are What You Think You Are Talk Show tour geared towards students in the Washington, D.C. school system.
The program is the latest event in which Thomas has given back to the D.C. community. Since becoming a Wizard in 2001, Thomas has volunteered on countless community programs that have seen him work locally with juveniles in DC jails through writing workshops to internationally where he worked with the "Feed The Children" program in Kenya.
"Interestingly, this actually all started when I was at a different program concerning Mrs. Pollin's Heart Day Health Fair program at Verizon Center. That's where I met Miss Black D.C. Breyuna Williams," said Thomas. "We were just sitting there talking about some of the things I was working on and she was telling me some of the things she was working on and she said, 'ok well we should work together', and I said 'that would be great'. I don’t think she believed me at first, but she sent me some information on Think Big and I said that sounded great."
The Think Big tour is designed to take place throughout Williams’ reign as Miss Black District of Columbia. The concept of the tour is a talk show with a designated theme where students are the audience and the guests include prominent men and women in the community. The theme for this show was "Get Focused" and targeted Anacostia's female students. The goal was to openly discuss issues that largely affect the female students, including girl on girl violence, building self-esteem and confidence, relationships and increase in the HIV/AIDS among teenage girls.
While Thomas is involved in multiple programs, this was one of the first programs he worked on that was female based. Thomas was one of only two men on the guest panel consisting of local celebrities as well as his wife Nichole.
"It was very different because I usually talk to young males and even my wife was telling me that you never talk to the young girls you always talk to the young males. I said ‘I guess you are right. I go to a prison and talk to young men or I write poetry for young men," said Thomas. "It was a different perspective. They were all females on the panel, so it was definitely different. It was good for them to see a young married couple and we were talking to them about marriage and things of that nature."
In his first program with Williams, Thomas was very impressed with Williams and her dedication to providing positive programs that enrich, encourage and celebrate young people.
"She’s a young woman who wants to do something special and meaningful in the community," Thomas said. "I commend Breyuna for her vision for developing this program to inspire our young minds who are our future to not only “think big” but to plan for a bigger, brighter future as a reality and not just a dream.”
To see how else the Wizards are helping in the community, please visit WizardsCare.com.