key players project: the course
description of the key players project
Springfield, on a good day, is a 90-minute commute from Boston - a drive too far to conduct in-season player or staff appearance programs. The news, events and struggles of the Springfield community rarely get the attention of the Boston media. And our department lacks the resources necessary to invest in a community situated 100 miles to our east. But Springfield, a city of approximately 150,000 people, is unquestionably part of the Celtics market. So one challenge for the Celtics Community Relations Department was to figure out how to successfully bring a community relations program to Springfield.
In the fall of 2001, I paid Wayne Levy, Director of Community Relations (and an alumnus) for the Celtics, a visit to gather information for a new undergraduate course I was developing on Community Relations. Out of that conversation grew the seeds of an ambitious community outreach effort in Springfield that would eventually become known as the "Key Players Project."
In retrospect, three concerns drove the early stages of the project. First, to involve the Celtics with the Springfield community in a way that would positively impact Springfield. Second, to build off community assets and involve key individuals in the community in the visioning process. And, third, to use students to administer a program and create a positive "hands-on" learning experience for them.
Our first step was to meet with community leaders and activists. Levy attended some of these meetings. A "Celtics" presence boosted community attendance and commitment. UMass students and I facilitated these meetings as part of the community relations class. After a number of meetings, the group decided to honor men of color who are providing a positive impact on children. Men of color are rarely portrayed as care givers in the popular culture, but these men in Springfield are a community asset and their work was going unrecognized. This concept fit nicely with the Celtics Community Relations mission of supporting families and children. It also played into something the Celtics do well and our fans respect: honoring community heroes at our games.
I believe one of the reasons this project was successful getting off the ground was that we created spaces for the articulation the community's wishes. These desires shaped the project. For example, the Springfield group wanted to create something different - "not the usual suspects" guides the selection process. The Springfield community representatives were very clear; they did not want this to be just another award for local individuals already in the spotlight. This award was to go to the "nose wipers and the shoe tie-ers." To "keep it real," it was clear children had to do the nominating.
The students' job was to figure out how to identify and honor these "Key Players." To reach young people, the students and the "Key Players Project" were going to have to be in the community. Students are required to volunteer at community centers and schools throughout the semester, in part to understand what it is like to work in a center to which teams often donates tickets. The students built relationships with young people and encouraged them to fill out nomination forms. Each year, the students figure out new ways to reach young people - t-shirts, bookmarks, and flyers. Some years they have hosted ice skating parties and field trips to campus. In addition, each year students produce a commercial, buy airtime on a local TV station and maintain a web page (KeyPlayersProject.org).
Once the nomination process ends, community leaders and former "Key Players" award recipients meet to discuss the nominations and select a new class of honorees. The "Key Players" are honored in a half-time center court ceremony at a Boston Celtics game. Each honoree also receives 4 tickets to a Celtics game. The students raise money throughout the semester from university grants and local sponsorships to pay for various program expenses, including transportation to the game and a catered hometown reception for the honorees and their family and friends (between 100-150 people). Over the past three years, this reception has evolved into to a celebration of community that involves "Key Players" award winners, past and present.
Important allies in that first year were a local television station (WGGB) and community activists. Particularly critical were two activists between jobs who were able to put considerable time into the project. The television station gave the project credibility.
Because the project has as part of its mission challenging the mainstream image of men of color we wanted the presentation of the project of be visual. We hired a photographer to take pictures of the Key Players. We got local photographic lab to donate large portraits of the Key Players. It was more luck than wisdom but we were able to use these portraits to bring in new sponsors. And in the second year students convinced the dean of the Isenberg School of Management School to become title sponsor ($2,000). Landing a title sponsor insured our stability and enabled students to focus on the core mission of the project.