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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Joneé Billy, Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships and External Affairs at PowerPlay NYC
2:54:46
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3 min
Joneé Billy from PowerPlay NYC testified about the organization's work empowering BIPOC girls through sports-based youth development and the challenges they face due to anti-DEI rhetoric and funding cuts at the federal and private levels. She emphasized the importance of play equity and the critical nature of their work in supporting marginalized communities.
- PowerPlay NYC serves over 1,000 youth across New York City, offering free programs in partnership with Title I schools and community organizations.
- The organization has experienced funding cuts and rescinded grants due to a pullback from DEI-driven giving by both public and private funders.
- Billy called for increased city council support to sustain their work and send a clear message about New York City's commitment to equity and justice for young people.
Joneé Billy
2:54:46
Hi.
2:54:47
Good afternoon Chair Brennan, Chair Resler and esteemed committee members.
2:54:52
My name is Janae Billie and I have I am honored to serve as the senior director of strategic partnerships and external affairs at PowerPlay NYC.
2:55:00
On behalf of our executive team, I want to express our sincere gratitude to your for your leadership and continued support of youth serving organizations across the city.
2:55:07
For twenty seven years, PowerPlay NYC has remained steadfast in its mission to empower girls, primarily BIPOC youth, from under resourced communities through sports based youth development.
2:55:18
Each year we serve over 1,000 youth across all five boroughs of New York City, helping them grow stronger physically, emotionally and academically.
2:55:27
Our free programs offered in partnership with Title I schools and community based organizations serve as lifelines for many young people who would otherwise have no access to safe spaces for physical activity, mentorship or leadership development.
2:55:42
Play equity is at the heart of our theory of change.
2:55:45
Research confirms that what we see every day when girls, particularly black and brown girls, have access to high quality, trauma informed, culturally relevant sport programs, they are more likely to thrive in school, graduate, pursue college, lead in confidence, and serve as change makers in their communities.
2:56:03
Yet, when girls are not engaged by the age of 14, the door often closes for good.
2:56:08
This moment is make or break and Power Blaze stands in that gap.
2:56:11
Unfortunately, a growing wave of anti DEI rhetoric and policy at the federal level is threatening our ability and the ability of countless peer organizations to continue this critical work.
2:56:22
Nearly half of PowerPlay's budget is supported by a federal grant but the chilling effect of these directives is not limited to public dollars.
2:56:30
Private funders are also following suit.
2:56:33
In the past year alone, we've seen a foundation specifically supporting black girls rescind a $25,000 pledge grant, citing a sudden and widespread pullback from their own funders.
2:56:43
Corporate donors have helped has halted DEI driven giving.
2:56:48
Foundations have quietly dismantled their equity commitments and all of this has happened with no roadmap, no transparency, and no warning.
2:56:56
We are navigating an increasingly volatile philanthropic landscape not because our work is less effective or less needed, but because it's explicitly rooted in equity.
2:57:06
Let me be clear, this is not just a funding crisis.
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It's a moral crisis.
2:57:10
Efforts to defund or delegitimize DEI initiatives jeopardizes decades of progress made on behalf of marginalized communities.
2:57:18
They send a dangerous message to our young people that their identities, experiences, and futures are politically political liabilities.
2:57:25
Now more than ever, we need the city council's partnership to sustain this work.
2:57:29
Restoring and expanding local investment is not only vital to power play's operations.
2:57:34
It is unequivocal statement that New York City will not waver in its in its commitment to equity, justice, and the well-being of its young people.
2:57:41
We cannot afford to lose momentum.
2:57:43
We cannot afford to lose another girl to the margins.
2:57:46
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today and for your ongoing commitment to youth in New York City.