jai Moi: Jam Session — Hosts Fundraiser for Justice Served

Jai Moi, national recording artist will host a fundraiser for Project Ricochet, Inc of NC at Port City Java on Fayetteville Street in Raleigh, NC on February 28, 2012 from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm. The admission is $10.00. To pay in advance DONATE HERE:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

More About The Artist

Raleigh’s best kept secret is no longer a secret anymore! Her single “Fly” along with its accompanying video is just one of many best from this sultry, soul singer/songwriter. She has caught the attention of fans of all walks of life from across the globe with this upbeat, inspirational tune guaranteed to make any one feel as if they can move mountains.

“Vocally Yours is just a taste of who I am as an artist. There are so many different sides of me  – I hope to reveal more of who I am as an artist and as a woman.” jai Moi … in her own words …

jai Moi’s unique style, voice and warm personality shines through in her performances. Visit: www.jaimoi.com or Reverbnation –  jai Moi

Join Project Ricochet, Inc of NC in a fundraiser to raise resources for PR-NCs Justice Served program. 

Justice Served is a grassroots initiative of Project Ricochet, Inc of North Carolina developed as a youth empowerment program designed to assist re-entry youth between the ages of 14-24 transition back into society through a twelve-week program that highlights confidence building, court system education, career development, resource allocation and referral services. 

Justice Served Rewarded For Striving

On Monday night, Project Ricochet, Inc of NC youth will get the opportunity to chill “Big Willy” style at the Hurricanes game against the Jets in a luxury suite at the RBC Center.

The first SIX Youth who sign up for orientation will join us at the game. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP.

What: PR-NC, Justice Served, Youth Re-Entry Initiative
When: January 21, 21012 from 12:00pm-3:00pm
Where: Revelation Missionary Baptist Church, 805 E. Davie Street, Raleigh, NC 27601

To find about more about the orientation and the program, CLICK HERE.

Thank You Mr. Eric Staal

CLICK PIC

Carolina Hurricanes All-Star forward Eric Staal and his wife Tanya created Eric’s Entourage to allow non-profit children’s organizations the opportunity to experience a hockey game in a 12-person, all-inclusive, luxury suite.

Project Ricochet’s Justice Served Youth will get the privilege of assuming the role of Eric’s Entourage for the night. They will receive an Eric’s Entourage T-shirt.

The 12-person, all-inclusive suite includes the following: 12 tickets to the game/12 seats in the suite, Food and Beverage, A private bathroom in the suite, 3 VIP Parking Passes, Carolina Hurricanes Gift Bags, and Eric’s Entourage T-Shirts.

An Interview with Mario Moss, Project Ricochet Inc of North Carolina Mayor-For-A-Day: September 20, 2011

Introduction: Mario Moss earned the opportunity to be the 2011 Project Ricochet Inc of North Carolina Mayor-For-A-Day. He met with Mayor Charles Meeker in his chambers before the September 20^th 2011 council meeting. According to Moss it was a wonderful and educational experience. He said, “I learned a lot about what the mayor and the city council has to do to keep the city running smoothly. Being Mayor-For-A-Day was a great moment in my life. During the council meeting I was able to sit in a meeting to listen to personal problems that people have to deal with and I learned what citizens have to do to in order to obtain permission to improve their establishments.”

The Bio: Mario Moss is a sophomore at Knightdale High School. Mario enjoys academic pursuits. His favorite subjects are: Math and Science. He would like to work with computers when he graduates from college and eventually become a computer engineer or build a career in computer information systems. He also enjoys playing Football for Knightdale High School as a Wide Receiver and Corner Back.  His other interest is playing Basketball with his friends and is planning on joining his school’s Basketball team this upcoming school year. He also enjoys other sports activities such as: Track and Golf. His hobbies are to sing, dance and play video games. He stays active by walking or riding bikes with friends or relaxing at the pool. When at home he likes to watch TV and listen to music.

Project Ricochet Perspectives: What is leadership?

Mario Moss: Leadership is a noun that means: The action of leading a group of people, an organization, or the state or position of being a leader. My definition of leadership is when you’re able to take charge of doing something on your own instead of following others. In other words, instead of being a follower you can be a great leader. The mayor has a huge leadership role that he uses to run the city. He also uses his ability to lead the city council in the right direction.

Project Ricochet Perspectives: How did Mayor Charles Meeker develop his leadership skills?

Mario Moss: He taught me that everything can’t go your way all the time. He told me some of the city council members don’t always get along, so that helped me understand that people don’t always get along, and that my leadership can guide them in the right direction. Furthermore, I was able to see how organization in a meeting can help it run much smoother.

Project Ricochet Perspectives: What did you learn about the office of mayor, city council, and government as a result of your experiences?

Mario Moss: From my discussion with Mayor Meeker, I learned it is not an easy job being a mayor, a member of city council, or being in government. I learned each member is only given one vote, which makes it harder to sway the overall outcome. In addition, the mayor is only given limited power and has to gain the support of city council in order to make change. Also, an interesting fact I learned is that the mayor is a part-time position and isn’t a full-time job.

Project Ricochet Perspectives: How did it feel to sit with City Council during a meeting?

Mario Moss: I was nervous at first, but as the meeting continued, I started to get more comfortable and then it was easy to sit there and listen during the meeting. Overall, it was an amazing experience and I would love to do it again. Not only was it an educational experience, but I am interested in increased participation in civic engagement and having a more active role in discussing problems occurring in the city to come up with solutions.

Project Ricochet Perspectives: What impact did this experience have on you personally and your career path?

Mario Moss: It impacted me personally, so much so I am considering working towards gaining a position on city council in the future. After participating in the Mayor for a Day project I have an excellent experience to add to my work portfolio and aid me further in my career path. I can now say that I was able to be recognized as the mayor, was able to sit on city council, be in the newspaper, and be on TV all at the age of 15.

Project Ricochet, Inc of North Carolina — This Way: Up!

By Alexis Byrd,
PR-NC Teen Expert

Abstract

The theme of Project Ricochet, Inc of North Carolina (PR-NC) is, “Nothing Stops a Bullet Like A Job”. The organization was founded on May 28, 2009. The initial goal of the founding committee was to prevent access of guns to youth. The vision of PR-NC is to assist minority youth who are prone to anti-social and gang affiliated behaviors while discovering positive and productive life-style alternatives. This is accomplished by door-to-door, neighbor-to-neighbor meetings with residents and property owners. At these meetings, PR-NC empowers community residents to take charge and responsibility for activities that occur within their neighborhoods.

Key Facts:

• Project Ricochet, Inc of NC mobilization efforts are designed as “Personal Responsibility Social Intervention”.
• Project Ricochet, Inc of NC strategizes, mobilizes, organizes and trains teams of adults to mentor squads of 5-8 teenagers to focus on making positive choices.
• Prior to being accepted to Project Ricochet, Inc of NC each participant must go through a six-week session of intense training on career and life-skills development.
• Through a partnership with Wake Technical Community College GED and Pre-GED online courses are offered for a small fee.
• Project Ricochet Inc of NC advocate that gang activities are no longer tolerated in North Carolina and are not welcomed because of the effects on our most precious assets – youth.

PR-NC offers many programs to assist youth to reach their goals. For instance they sponsor the annual, Ella Baker Youth Leadership Conference. PR-NC organizes H.Y.P.E Force or Helping Youth Prepare Enthusiastically for Career Empowerment and they hold monthly community forums.

Much effort goes into providing life skills training to those who cannot keep employment due to lack of formal training or those who have previous criminal records. Youth who are PR-NC apprentices’ sign a one year contract agreeing they will work with and support the function of Project Ricochet, Inc of NC.

The organization has nine foci:
-Financial Empowerment
-Real- Estate and Estate Planning
-Administrative/Management Development
-Career Development
-Technological Development
-Civic Awareness and Education
-Education
-Holistic Health Care Services
-Preventative Health Care Services

Below is an encapsulation of some of the foci:

Financial Empowerment
Participants fill out a survey to assess their skill-sets and then other participants with similar personality traits and interests are grouped together in a pod accordingly. After which a pod business is created based on these factors.

Real- Estate and Estate Planning
Seminars and training are taught to African-Americans to obtain land-ownership.

Administrative/ Management Development
PR-NC trains those who are transitioning from welfare-to-work to run day-to-day operations.

Career Development
Place workers into employment of a pod business after job and life skills training.

Technological Development
Goals are to obtain technological equipment, staff, offer computer classes and assist those wanting to create an entrepreneurial enterprise.

Summary

Project Ricochet Inc of NC offers many opportunities to those who are willing to put in the effort needed to accomplish the tasks at hand. Those tasks are to stay in school, not become a teenage pregnancy statistic, to be respectful of themselves, peers, and community. PR-NC provides business connections that youth can use later in life. Through the construction of the 20-year Life Plan, youth become more focused on their goals. PR-NC gives youth a sense of confidence because of the exposure to professional opportunities.

Finally, success is what you make it and Project Ricochet, Inc of North Carolina can help youth achieve their goals. This Way: Up!

Project Ricochet, Inc of North Carolina Youth Conferences: An Effective Option

By: Justin Powley

Key Facts:

• PR NC youth leadership conferences target a specific population with a specific problem.
• PR NC youth leadership conferences offer a safe environment that promotes safe sharing and spiritual exploration.
• PR NC youth leadership conferences use reflection exercises to develop social interaction amongst peers at their own level.

One way Project Ricochet Inc, NC hopes to reach young people in our community is through youth leadership conferences like the annual Ella Baker Youth Leadership Conference held in Raleigh, NC. Youth leadership conferences are pretty numerous throughout the country. So, what makes Project Ricochet’s conferences so effective and productive in comparison to others?

First we specifically target our participants, and they share a common thread. They all come from similar circumstances, and have a common goal of wanting to escape violence and gang activity. By doing this, we are able to focus on one specific problem. Our goal is to focus on helping these young people escape violent lifestyles. By focusing on this one major problem, we make the picture clearer for our participants to deal with other problems that arise in their lives.

The other thing we do is remove them from the situation they are in, and place them in an environment in which they can feel safe and secure to share their fears and concerns away from the negative influences that have plagued their lives for so long. This helps them gain a new perspective on life. Sometimes by getting away from unhealthy and dangerous situations, people are able to see what their life would be like without specific problems, and this motivates people to remove those problems from their lives.

Third, the participants engage in reflection exercises. Through this, they not only learn from the leaders who are trained and qualified to deal with young people, but they learn from each other. Learning from people their own age range and interacting within their own peer group can be every bit as valuable as learning from leaders and trained professionals. Hearing it from peers with similar circumstances makes it more personal, and they feel less weird knowing that others are going through the same situations.

Through our leadership conferences, the participants are able to develop friendships that last for life. They find support and help from their own community and social groups. By interacting with each other under the guidance of our caring leaders, they develop much-needed social skills at their own pace, and establish healthy relationships to help them terminate the bad ones that often plague the lives of at-risk youth.

Our leadership conferences offer young people all the tools needed to turn their lives around. We give them knowledge, resources, friendship, and motivation. Gangs offer fool’s gold. They offer a place of love and support, but it’s only a mirage or an illusion. We offer the real thing. We give at risk youth the much-needed strength and support to overcome their challenging and difficult circumstances.

Project Ricochet: Gang Forum

By: Justin Powley

Key Facts:

• Gang activity affects everyone. It is not isolated to any facet of society. Gang activity has been found in all cultures, races, and socioeconomic statuses.
• Possible gang activity is not isolated to any geographical area. It is present in inner city neighborhoods, suburbs, and even rural communities.
• There is a time studied method for addressing gang activity in all neighborhoods and social settings.

 

Gang activity is often associated with low-income, inner city neighborhoods. While that is where the majority of gang activity is reported, it should be noted that gang activity can arise in all socioeconomic classes and geographic areas of society. It is not completely isolated to any one racial or ethnic group. It is also not completely restricted from neighborhoods with higher incomes of earning. Gang activity is a problem that affects all of us.

According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) (2010), Suburban and rural counties recently reported higher percentages of gang activity as getting worse in comparison to other population categories. This is a trend that has continued since the beginning of the 21^st century. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to conclude that gang activity is a problem for all citizens living in various regions of the United States. Therefore, for the safety of our children, it is a problem that we all must address.

There is a five step process for addressing gang activity that has been laid out for us by the OJJDP. The steps are:

• Community mobilization: Citizens of the community must get involved. This includes religious leaders, former gang members, and concerned neighborhood residents.
• Opportunities Provision: At-risk youth must be exposed to leadership training and employment opportunities.
• Social Intervention: Mainstream organizations such as churches, clubs, and agencies must develop programs that reach out and target the at-risk youth populations.
• Suppression: Formal and informal social control models must be implemented in schools, neighborhoods, and other social settings.
• Organizational Change and Development: Developing policies and procedures that efficiently utilize available resources to effectively manage the gang problem.

In summation, various aspects of the community must get involved. The task cannot be left to one group or a specific number of people. Law enforcement is not able to correct this problem on its own, nor are faith-based organizations and school programs. The community as a whole must address the problem of gang activity. Will you sit on the sidelines as our youth are recruited and corrupted by violent gangs linked to prostitution and drug activity, or will you get involved and join this fight? You have the power and the opportunity to make a difference. Please join us in our efforts to fight violence and gang activity. Nothing stops a bullet like a job.

References

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. (2010). Highlights of the 2008 national youth gang survey. OJJDP Fact Sheet, p.2. Found at http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/229249.pdf  on 2/24/11.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. (unknown). OJJDP’s comprehensive gang model. Best Practices to Address Community Gang Problems, p.2. Found at http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/222799.pdf on 2/24/11.