Buffalo – Mayor Byron W. Brown today congratulated participants who completed the Seventh Season of ‘Game
Changers’. The free 6 week program that combines basketball training with workshops, including life skills development
and mentoring, began Friday, October 12, 2018 and culminated in a special ceremony on November 16th.
Mayor Brown stated, “I am pleased to stand with this new group of Game Changers, who I hope will take what
they learned and share with their friends. This program is much more than a basketball program. Through Game
Changers, participants are introduced to role models, and given a vision of hope and a reminder that through dedication
and perseverance, anything is possible.”
Mayor Brown was joined by a number of partners, including members of the Buffalo Police Department, including
community police officers and the BPD Neighborhood Engagement Team (BPD NET), Buffalo Peacemakers, the
City of Buffalo Department of Community Services, the North East Basketball Club, Buffalo Police Athletic League
of Buffalo (PAL), Kids Escaping Drugs, MVP, MBK, and Say Yes Buffalo.
Under Mayor Brown’s direction, ‘Game Changers’ started in 2013. Since then, over 1,000 city youth have been provided
with a safe place to play ball and learn other life skills on a series of consecutive Friday nights. The program
is sponsored in part by the City of Buffalo, the Erie County Division of Youth, and many other community partners.
This season of Game Changers was held on six consecutive Friday evenings, from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m., at the Delavan/
Grider Community Center and The Belle Community Center. Each session included a “game changing” message
about Public Service, Character Development, Empowered Youth and Peer to Peer. New this year were two parenting
engagement workshops, hosted by the Most Valuable Parent (MVP). For more information about the Game
Changers program, contact the City of Buffalo Department of Community Services at (716) 851-5887.