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Memphis Grizzlies

With the support of MENTOR and the Memphis Grizzlies Foundation, MENTOR Memphis Grizzlies will host the third annual, three-day&nbsp;Mentoring Matters Summit of Tennessee&nbsp;from&nbsp;Thursday, April 25, through&nbsp;Saturday, April 27.

The summit will feature two days of virtual sessions for mentoring practitioners on Thursday, April 25, and Friday, April 26, with an opening night reception for all participants to conclude the first day. Virtual sessions will feature local speakers, special guests and experts in positive youth development from across the country.

The virtual sessions will be followed by an in-person&nbsp;Youth Day&nbsp;on Saturday, April 27, where mentors and mentees can participate in an entirely free day of panel discussions and various, fun-filled activities at Tom Lee Park. Activities and panel topics are organized by the MENTOR Memphis Grizzlies Youth Advisory Council, comprised of 10 youths ranging in age from middle school to college who are affiliated with mentoring programs in the Grizzlies Foundation Network.

Themed "The Mentoring Puzzle: Cross-Sector Collaboration for a Stronger Community,” this year’s Mentoring Matters Summit focuses on corporate engagement and advocacy, college and career exploration, mentoring best practices and storytelling.

Through the annual summit, MENTOR Memphis Grizzlies strives to create empowering and inspiring educational opportunities for mentors and mentees, provide a platform for youth in the Mid-South to demonstrate leadership in their community and provide quality mentoring.

Participants interested in attending this year’s event can now register&nbsp;here.

Fans who want to support the Memphis Grizzlies and purchase 2023-24 single game tickets can do so now by going online to&nbsp;grizzlies.com/tickets. For more information on the Grizzlies, visit&nbsp;grizzlies.com,&nbsp;‘like’ Memphis Grizzlies on Facebook or follow&nbsp;@memgrizz&nbsp;on Twitter/X and Instagram.

ABOUT THE MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES&nbsp;FOUNDATION:

Harnessing the power of sport to transform lives, the Memphis Grizzlies Foundation is dedicated to closing the Opportunity Gap for children in underserved communities and, since 2004, has focused on finding, funding and creating youth mentoring and development programs that&nbsp;prepare students for success in college and career.&nbsp;Through the Foundation, the Grizzlies have invested more than $54.1 million in schools, community organizations and innovative projects that give students the tools to achieve their full potential.&nbsp; In 2012, the team earned the prestigious Beyond Sport Sports Team of the Year award in acknowledgement of its commitment to meaningful community service. The team was named to the 2013 President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition. In 2017, the Foundation was named a finalist for ESPN Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year.

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Mentor Memphis Grizzlies hosts third annual Mentoring Matters Summit of Tennessee, April 25-27

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MLK Day of Service 2024

As part of the Memphis Grizzlies’ 2024 MLK initiatives, the Grizzlies Foundation and Community Engagement teams will collaborated in executing an event showcasing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's. legacy through art. “Visualizing the Dream" featured members of the MENTOR Memphis Grizzlies Youth Advisory Council giving “Teen Talks” speaking to how Dr. King's legacy has positively impacted their access to opportunities and mobility. Following the Teen Talks, twelve local middle school artists painted basketballs based on these Teen Talks. The basketballs painted are on display in FedExForum beginning with the MLK Day game and continuing through Black History Month.

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Visualizing the Dream Recap

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Ford Scholars Veterans Day 2021 Recap

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rePRESENT Every Day Tip-Off Rally

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Grizzlies coaches host clinic to tip-off Memphis PAL Program

On a  national stage, fielded from 365,000 participants, seventeen-year-old Anita  Norman of Arlington, Tenn. stood alongside nine other teens to match their  skills in reciting classic and contemporary poetry for the title of 2014 National Poetry Out Loud Champion and a $20,000 award.  Before claiming the crown as National Champion, Norman competed locally in the  Fourth Annual Grizzlies Poetry Slam on February 18.

The Arlington High School junior is now equipped  with a national, state, and high school Poetry Out Loud title, and has a  bull’s-eye on applying early action to Yale University in August to study juvenile  law and educational policy, and maybe even start her own clothing line on the  side. As a secondary plan, if she doesn’t get into Yale she plans to apply to  Vanderbilt, Rhodes, Rice and the University of Chicago.
  Suddenly Norman doesn’t seem so seventeen anymore.

“There’s never been an excuse to not do your  best, right?” she said.

She doesn’t sound seventeen either. The judges at  the 2014 National Poetry Out Loud Finals were also impressed by Norman’s  rhetoric as she took top honors in a highly competitive field of 365,000 high  school students vying for the top spot and the chance to compete in the two-day  competition in Washington D.C.

Poetry Out Loud was created by the National  Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and Poetry Foundation and holds a yearly national  poetry recitation competition to encourage students to learn about great poetry  through recitation and memorization, in an effort to enhance students’ public speaking skills  and to build self-confidence.

An  avid book reader and poetry buff, scouring the  works of Maya Angelou, June Jordan and Langston Hughes, Norman was influenced by  her communications teacher at Arlington High School to enter the contest. She  quickly rose through the ranks in 2013-14, winning the Arlington High School  Poetry Out Loud title and State of Tennessee title before she started prepping  for Nationals.

During her prep, Norman stumbled upon the Memphis  Grizzlies Fourth Annual Poetry Slam competition and decided to compete in a  different oratory form. The Poetry Slam differs from the Poetry Out Loud  program by encouraging students to combine creativity and composition in their  own original works, often called ‘Spoken Word,’ under the Slam’s theme of  “Greater Memphis.” Norman delivered her own “Mama Memphis” piece, comparing the  city of Memphis to a mother giving birth. Students from across the Mid-South  presented their original lyrics with Norman taking the top spot and a two-year  scholarship (equivalent to over $7,000) to Southwest Community College and a  trip to New York City from the Grizzlies.

“I really  enjoyed being able to see a different side of myself in the Memphis Grizzlies  Poetry Slam. Spoken Word lives a little more with attitude and it’s funky,”  said Norman. “Spoken word is a great motivation because Poetry Out Loud is a  little different. I got to kind of come out of my box in the Grizzlies’ Poetry  Slam.  You have to hold it in during  Poetry Out Loud, but the Spoken Word world is very inspirational for creativity  because of its social and activism type movements. I’ve had a plethora of  motivation in this experience.”
  Riding her  highs and titles, Norman made it to Washington D.C. where she would face three  different rounds of recitations before clinching her title. She would also face  her intense stage fright – which you’d never suspect if you talked to her – but  she relied on her experiences with her family to get her through the  spotlights, shakes and sweats.
  Norman and  her family are heavily involved in a small family church, and while growing up,  speaking or singing at church was always a requirement. When she gets nervous,  Norman recalls her great-grandmother’s excellent storytelling skills in order  to understand and observe what good recitation looks like.

She stepped  on the stage in Washington D.C. on April 30 and recited her final poem,  "Let the Light Enter" by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, and aces it  with a perfect, bold recitation, before being crowned champion. Stage fright  was never evident.

“I just  focus on my goal and the story I’m going to tell. Then it’s OK, because I don’t  have to be myself when I immerse myself into the story of someone else.

“The main  goal of the program is to share the work of the author. The piece itself is a  character. The character seems dead, just there on the page. But of course it’s  alive, it’s on a page, it breathes. But if the words are dead on the paper,  then the person who is reading it aloud gets the opportunity to bring the piece  to life. The performer gets to give CPR to the poem.” Norman said.
  So what’s  next for the soon-to-be high school senior? She’ll serve as an Ambassador for  the Poetry Out Loud program, but she’s ready for a new challenge, a new  challenge with a little more, as she calls it, funk and attitude. Norman plans  to focus on writing poetry so she can get more involved in the Spoken Word  world.

“I don’t  think winning this competition sets me apart from anyone. I just found  something I like. I’m like other kids, I’m afraid of expressing myself, but the  Poetry Out Loud competition taught me that it’s okay to be a little bit weird.  It’s okay to be yourself. We’re not supposed to be carbon copies of each other.  The different types of poetry competitions that I’ve been in have taught me  that I have to dream on the biggest level. I may never be Oprah or President  Obama, but the accolades don’t matter. As long as we know they’re there and  they exist, it pushes us to something greater. You just have to discover your  niche, and be a nut about it.”

To learn  more about the Poetry Out Loud program visit https://www.poetryoutloud.org/.

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Grizzlies Poetry Slam winner becomes National Champion

MEMPHIS, April 9, 2014 - The Memphis Grizzlies are set to host the 2014 Read to Achieve Celebration presented by International Paper, Burger King and the Southern College of Optometry on Thursday, April 10 from 10-11 a.m. at FedExForum. This event is not open to the public.

Grizzlies’ players Nick Calathes, Ed Davis and Kosta Koufos along with representatives from International Paper and the Southern College of Optometry will be on-hand to help reward 3,200 elementary students who have excelled in the annual program.  Students taking part in this year’s celebration completed the 2014 Memphis Grizzlies Reading Challenge by reading at least six books in six weeks.  As part of the reading challenge, 56 schools in the Mid-South participated and collectively read over 20,000 books over the six-week period.

Students from Memphis City Schools, Shelby, Desoto and Fayette Counties will be transported to FedExForum to celebrate their achievements with the reading challenge. During the celebration, the players will congratulate the students on a job well done and talk about the importance of education and their personal journeys through college. The students will also be entertained by Grizz, the Grizz Girls presented by Gold Strike and the Kings of the Court presented by Sky Zone.

The NBA’s Read to Achieve program, presented locally by International Paper, is a year-round campaign to help young people develop a life-long love for reading and encourage adults to read regularly to children. Reaching an estimated 50 million children a year, Read to Achieve is the most extensive educational outreach initiative in the history of professional sports. In addition to being supported by all 30 NBA teams, Read to Achieve is supported by the NBA's officials, parents and wives of players, organizations and the NBA Players Association and Retired Players Association.

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Grizzlies set to host Read to Achieve celebration for local participants

<a href="https://fedexforum.com/arena-policy-updates" target="_blank">CLEAR BAGS ONLY: FEDEXFORUM NOW REQUIRES CLEAR BAGS FOR ALL GAMES &amp; EVENTS!</a>