The Omega Boys Club/Street Soldiers® Chronicles its Prolific History in "Street Soldier: The Play"

Street Soldier: The Play" will highlight amazing stories, from Dr. Joseph Marshall and Jack Jacqua's founding of The Omega Boys Club/Street Soldiers in 1987 to the nationally-acclaimed organization's current activities. Scenes from the production will underscore unyielding efforts that assisted thousands of young people escape the lure and temptations of the streets. 85 of the youth have completed college; 75 are currently attending colleges and universities; and 400 attend the Omega Leadership Academy each year.

San Francisco (PRWEB) February 6, 2004 --Seventeen years after its formation, The Omega Boys Club/Street Soldiers will chronicle its illustrious history - challenges and overwhelming successes - through a theatrical production titled Street Soldier: The Play. The play will be performed for two consecutive weekends - February 20-22 and February 27-29 at Berkeley Black Repertory Group Theatre 3201 Adeline Street Berkeley, CA. The cost of admission is $20.00. Tickets may be obtained from Omega Boys Club administrators by calling 1-800-SOLDIER.

The play - adapted from the book Street Soldier - was written and is directed by Cid and Dr. Betty Burston and Dr. Mona Scott.

Street Soldier: The Play" will highlight amazing stories, from Dr. Joseph Marshall and Jack Jacqua's founding of The Omega Boys Club/Street Soldiers in 1987 to the nationally-acclaimed organization's current activities. Scenes and performances will underscore the unyielding efforts of the highly praised organization's founders, Margaret J. Norris and Wilbur "Coach" Jiggetts as they endeavored to save a generation - one life at a time!

Through its many programs, they have tirelessly assisted thousands of young people escape the lure and temptations of the streets. 85 youth who at some point were part of The Omega Boys Club/Street Soldiers' experience are college graduates. 75 Omegas are currently attending colleges across the country and 400 attend the Omega Leadership Academy each year."

In March 1997, co-founder and executive director Dr. Joseph Marshall received a bi-partisan salute from the United States Congress when he was presented with the Freedom Works Award by House of Representatives Majority Leader, Richard K. Armey, Republican of Texas and seconded by California Democrats Ron Dellums and Nancy Pelosi.

In April 1994, Marshall, along with Denzel Washington, Quincy Jones, Spike Lee, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Robert Moses, Eddie Murphy and Benjamin Carson, M.D., received the Essence Award, honoring outstanding achievements by African American Men.

In 1990, Marshall was honored at the White House for his success in fighting drugs and crime in his community. He is currently a Planning Board Member of the Surgeon General's Report on Youth Violence and he is a former member of the Harvard University School of Public Health, Advisory Board for the Community Violence Prevention.

With a growing list of success stories, the Omega Boys Club continues to receive national acclaim. Marshall, staff and members of the Club have been profiled in the New Yorker Magazine, People Magazine, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Essence Magazine, CNN, the Disney Channel, CBS Evening News, The Today Show, McNeil Lehrer Report, the Oprah Show, B.E.T. Tonight and the VIBE Television Show.

Joining Omega to bring Street Soldiers - The Play to the Bay Area are the following community sponsors: Omega Boys Club Alumni Association, National Council of Negro Women National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) - San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, Living Waters Collaborative, People of Color Task Force, Booker T. Washington High School Alumni Association and NAACP - San Mateo Branch, along with Amtrak and CitiBank.

ABOUT The Omega Boys Club/Street Soldiers:
The Omega Boys Club/Street Soldiers® was founded in 1987 as a program of the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House by Joe Marshall, a middle school teacher and administrator, and Jack Jacqua, a middle school counselor. Both men were concerned about the number of African American youth who were dropping out of school and/or becoming involved in the drug trade. At first, the Club offered tutoring, basketball, and other positive recreational and educational activities an alternatives to destructive behavior.

As the founders began to understand the prevalence and severity of the issues these youth were facing, they realized a deeper level of intervention was needed. A culture of violence was deeply ingrained in the youth's lives: in their homes, on the streets, in their neighborhoods, in their relationships with peers, in the movies they watched and the music they listened to. Through their day-to-day work with youth, the founders of Omega Boys Club/Street Soldiers identified violence as a public health issue, and developed an approach to helping youth move from the culture of violence to safer, more personally and socially productive alternatives. www.street-soldiers.org

Production is sponsored by Amtrak and Citibank.

EVENT CONTACT
Omar Butler
olb@street-soldiers.org
415-826-8624
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