An abbreviated version of this article appeared in our newsletter, “Carnegie Corner,” Issue No. 10.
Ice Hockey in Harlem (IHIH) and The Clark Park Coalition of Southwest Detroit have announced that 20 to 30 players, coaches, and chaperones from Harlem will travel by bus to Detroit over Martin Luther King holiday weekend next month. The group will engage with players and coaches from Detroit in scrimmages, community service, and other activities.
“The Big Apple to the Motor City Tour” will take place from Friday, January 12 through Monday, January 15, 2024. Players from Harlem and Detroit will also visit Detroit area museums, universities, and cultural centers together. In addition, they will hear from a distinguished list of people who have broken barriers and fought for inclusion in ice hockey.
“Our enrichment programs are centered around education,” IHIH Executive Director Malik Garvin shared. “We run a hockey knowledge course where younger players learn everything about ice hockey from the rules to the equipment to the geography of NHL teams. We run a speaker series where guest speakers come and talk to the kids about their careers and their career paths.
He added, “we also run homework help. And, last but not least, we run a college exploration series which is aimed at exposing kids to higher education. And first and foremost, we do that by getting kids on college campuses, having them have conversations with current students, taking a look around and seeing what it feels like. And this Michigan trip is a layup for many reasons.”
Ice Hockey in Harlem was founded at Lasker Rink on the northern edge of Central Park in 1987. Founders Dave Wilk, Todd Levy, and former New York Ranger Pat Hickey and other volunteers taught classroom sessions where players studied math, reading, and geography using hockey cities and statistics as teaching tools. In exchange for full participation, players gained one night on ice each week. The group’s overall mission is to improve the social and academic well-being of children from the Harlem community. Levy still serves as chairman of the board for IHIH, which now has a total of 170 participants.
Planning the MLK weekend events has been made smoother by the fact that JJ Velez, Board President of IHIH, is the former Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Detroit.
“It just made sense to try to connect both our organizations, which have been around for 20 or 30 plus years, that are doing simultaneous work within their communities to diversify the game.”
Both Velez and Garvin are IHIH alumni. Velez joined the program as a player in its second year of existence. Garvin started when he was just five years old.
“When you look at both Malik and I, yes, we love the game of hockey,” Velez explained. “Ice Hockey in Harlem really helped us as individuals to get where we are right now… I’ve gone on to do other things in my life, but the game itself is still at the core of what I do, of what I believe, the teamwork, the camaraderie, all the aspects of the game.”
“This trip will bring like-minded kids of color together who are in different geographies, but have similar experiences on and off the ice,” Velez continued. “When you see individuals who look like you, who play the same game as you, and you can have and share a meal and talk about those things, it bridges the gaps.”
The Clark Park Coalition of Southwest Detroit exists to provide an array of diverse, high-quality recreational, educational, social and mentoring programs for southwest Detroit families promoting skills development which helps youth grow into responsible, self-confident adults.
When the City of Detroit closed Clark Park in 1991, Anthony Benevides and other volunteers organized to raise funds and reopen the Clark Park Recreation Center and provide youth recreational programming. In 1994, Benavides became the full-time Clark Park Recreation Center Director for the first ten years, and has continued serving as the Director through the Clark Park Coalition since 2004. The Clark Park Coalition now serves more than 1,200 youth annually through baseball, softball, soccer, tennis, ice hockey, ice skating, and lacrosse as well as educational, arts, and youth employment programs.
Velez and Garvin said this year’s trip will cost approximately $30,000, of which almost $19,000 had been raised thus far. Velez hopes to surpass the $30,000 mark with fundraising this year, so a fund can be established to support the Ice Hockey in Harlem/Clark Park Coalition exchange into the future, with a group from Detroit traveling to Harlem next year.
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Ice Hockey in Harlem Board President JJ Velez talks about his love for hockey and the upcoming “The Big Apple to the Motor City Tour.”