Lynch/van Otterloo YMCA Hosts Team Harmony Potluck Social

On Monday night, Feb. 7, the Lynch/van Otterloo YMCA hosted Team Harmony’s potluck dinner social. The high school club talked about upcoming programs and met new freshman members of the group.

Facilitated by Loren Weston, the group’s adult advisor, and led by students, Team Harmony works to make high school students conscious of discrimination and bullying within the school and the effects it can have on people. They also offer information and programs on how to cope with these issues.

The Potluck Social at the Y was a well-deserved break for this group of hardworking young adults, and a chance to unwind and have fun together. Over the course of the evening, they bonded with new members, ate some delicious food, and engaged in an activity on the YMCA squash courts.

"The work these kids do in school to prevent bullying and change the language of their peers is amazing," said Teen and Camp Director Chris Bevilacqua. "They really make a difference, and the work they do goes a long way for students who wouldn't otherwise speak up."

During after-school meetings of the club, students take part in exercises, or “situation drills,” created by the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL has partnered with Team Harmony clubs throughout the state to provide them with trainings and materials as part of their “World of Difference Campaign.”

During an exercise, students are asked to share different experiences with bullying. On a piece of paper, each student is asked to describe a time when someone’s words or actions hurt them, and on the flip side when their words or actions hurt someone else.

The group’s student leaders then run a discussion, allowing everyone to share their stories about hurtful experiences with bullying and cyber bullying.

About Team Harmony
Name-calling, gossiping and bullying has lead to awful incidents in schools all over the country. Team Harmony works to change the words and thoughts of students.

This Marblehead High School club consists of a small group of students changing the language used by their peers and making them aware of how words can be hurtful. The club is part of a nationally recognized, multicultural movement to unite youth of all backgrounds in the battle against prejudice, bigotry and hatred.

On a broader level, Team Harmony is about combating racial and ethnic stereotypes that exist in society. The organization was originally co-founded in the early 1990s by Marblehead resident Jon Jennings, who was then an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics. Jennings and Celtics star Reggie Lewis became fast friends, and saw a need to correct the injustices they felt. The racial tension in the country at the time inspired them to put their words into actions.

Jennings always said that he was raised to treat people equally, and talked about his relationship with Lewis as a friendship blind to race. Jennings was a white man, raised in rural Indiana, Lewis a black man from inner city Baltimore. Through a common interest in basketball, the two developed a friendship and felt that people everywhere should be able to look beyond physical differences.

For more information on YMCA teen programs, please contact Teen and Camp Director Chris Bevilacqua at bevilacquac@northshoreymca.org.

Are you a teenager looking for things to do in Marblehead or Swampscott?
The YMCA Monthly Teen Calendar is up, and has plenty of things to do!

Go to northshoreymca.org, click on Lynch/van Otterloo, Programming, then Teen Programming to be directed to separate program calendars for middle and high school aged events offered by organizations throughout the Marblehead and Swampscott communities.

For more information on any of our programs, please contact Teen and Camp Director Chris Bevilacqua at bevilacquac@northshoreymca.org. Don’t forget to check out the teen Facebook page for all the upcoming teen events by searching ‘LVO YMCA Teens.’