Milwaukee North Side Youth Center Brings Police and Neighborhood Youth Together for a Night of Tournaments

Milwaukee, December 18, 2019

This Friday, December 20^th, the Maruf Center for Youth Innovation is organizing Youth Day Mega Tournaments featuring competitive games aimed at bridging historical divides between neighborhood youth and law enforcement. The event will be attended by neighborhood youth, officers from the district seven police department, Maruf youth advisors and counselors from 414 LIFE and CoreSinc.

The event will feature ping-pong, foosball, air hockey and free-throw tournaments as well as an apple-eating competition. Teams will be mixed with both youth and police officers. A motivational pep talk featuring Muhibb Dyer from the ‘Flood the Hood with Dreams’ initiative will be the highlight of the event.

A recent study conducted by the UWM Center for Urban Initiatives and Research found that 92% of Milwaukee residents desire a high level of police visibility where they live. In the same study, satisfaction with police presence was lowest among people of color. Maruf has partnered with the district seven police department in an effort to develop interactive programming that will build and foster a culture of trust, empathy and understanding.

The Maruf Center is a Muslim organization which aims to improve the socio-economic conditions of Milwaukee’s inner-city by building career acumen among neighborhood youth. The center holds daily mentor-based programs and features gaming stations, a counseling room, a gym and technology labs.

The Youth Day Mega-Tournaments will take place on Friday, December 20^th from 6PM to 8PM at 2110 W Hampton Ave. Participants can RSVP at www.marufcenter.com/events.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.