Make a Difference Week: 76ers, Institute of Music, Jazz Foundation

As part of Make a Difference Week, Steve Adubato and Joanna Gagis talk to community leaders to see what impact they are making. Steve Adubato heads to the Philadelphia 76ers Training Facility in Camden and speaks with World B. Free, former Sixers player and now Ambassador of the team, as well as Amy Hever, Executive Director of Community Engagement and the Sixers Youth Foundation,to discuss the ways the NBA team is reaching out to the young kids in the NJ and Philadelphia area. Joanna Gagis goes on-location to the Institute of Music in Elizabeth, NJ to learn about the role the Institute plays for children and families in the community. Steve Adubato goes one-on-one with the Executive Director of the Jazz Foundation of America, Wendy Oxenhorn, to learn about the many ways the Foundation is helping jazz legends who have come on hard times.

5/8/2017#2035

Excerpt:

"Hi, I'm Steve Adubato. This is part of NJTV's In Your Neighborhood series. We're in beautiful Camden, New Jersey, and we are proud to be interviewing two very special people. A gentleman that is no stranger to the folks in this Camden area. World B. Free. He is ambassador to Sixers basketball, we'll talk about that career in just a second. And Amy Hever is Executive Director of Community Engagement and the Sixers, at the Sixers Youth Foundation. How you doing? Good. Good. Thank you. Now this guy's special? Very special? [laughter] No? He is. He is part of Camden, Philadelphia lore, with the Philadelphia 76ers, is he not? Absolutely. Now you played from what years? Well, I came in the prehistoric days of Camden. [laughter] Back in '75. And I retired in '89. '89, '90. This is part of the In Your Neighborhood Series that our production company, the Caucus Educational Corporation, is contributing to this great initiative. In Your Neighborhood with NJTV. But the Sixers and Camden have a very tight connection, do they not? Well they always have. Ever since I've been here we always came over to Camden and did some things with the schools, because you know, doing speaking engagements, things like that, as far as talking about success, failures, drugs, you know, just being positive. And trying to, you know, let... and I always talk about letting kids know that, look, you have an opportunity to do something. I'm from the projects myself, I'm from New York City, from Brooklyn, and you know, I got out, so I mean, it can happen for anybody. Not only in basketball, sports, anything that you do positively. You can get out. These kids, these kids in Camden? What are they facing? And explain to folks, I mean, I was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, and there's Newark, there's Brooklyn, there's Camden, it's all not the same, but it's not that much different? But for those who may not know Camden, and what these kids are facing, describe it. Yeah. It's very true. I mean..."