Newark, NJ – May 26, 2006 – Last night, at the twentieth anniversary of the 34th precinct Police Athletic League (PAL) youth basketball league championship game and award dinner in Washington Heights, NY, Super Middleweight contender – Jerson Ravelo – among other professional and amateur athletes – handed out trophies and spoke to hundreds of New York kids and parents about his career in boxing..
Among those invited were former NY Knicks John Starks, Minnesota Timberwolves Felipe Lopez, NY Jets Bobby Jackson and Rice High School Senior and Louisville bound – Edgar Sosa.
In his 5th year participating with PAL, Jerson continues to inspire and advise kids from his fellow community by encouraging them to channel their energies toward school, athletics and family.
“Year after year Jerson participates in this event, and he really connects with the kids,” said Boxing Writer for TheSweetScience.com and former patrol officer in the 34th Precinct, Bob Mladinich.
“Most of the players in the league are Dominican, so you can imagine how exciting it is for them to be handed trophies by a fighter who represented their country in the 2000 Olympics, and because he is so intelligent and articulate, he is even able to reach them when talking about other challenges that they face in their lives. Nobody can ever say that Jerson forgot where he came from. He is not only a knockout in the ring, he is a wonderful human being,” said Mladinich.
Founded by Sal Maniscalco, 2003 NY liberty medal winner, 34th Precinct PAL has been serving the community for 20 years and has been recognized by the state of New York for leadership and community affairs. “In the past twenty years we’ve made a lot of strides in the community, and athletes like Jerson Ravelo who motivate and inspire the kids to do well in school, life and sports, is rewarding in and of itself,” said Maniscalco.
The Police Athletic League (PAL) is New York City’s largest, nonprofit, independent youth organization. Founded in 1914, PAL serves 70,000 New York City boys and girls each year with recreational, educational, cultural and social programs. PAL is the official youth agency of the New York Police Department.
For more information on PAL please visit www.palnyc.org. For information on Jerson Ravelo, please visit www.myspace.com/jersonravelo