Posts

Alex’s Lemonade Stand

Shout/Out to Reilly Berk and the team at Berk Enterprises, Inc. for hosting Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation— and doing an amazing job raising awareness AND funds to fight childhood cancer.

Also shout/out to one of Game Changers most recent scholarship winners and college ambassadors—Riley, who represented the organization exemplifying one of our core values, SERVICE! Thanks for allowing us to play a part in this worthy event!

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2025 Annual Sports Leadership Summit

THANK YOU to EVERYONE: School administrators, parents, and the unselfish coaches who encouraged their student athletes to attend Game Changers Sports Leadership Summit! I just create the platform, the ultimate value is being able to bring in some of these successful Professionals and College Athletes to pour into our young people, and make them aware of a successful life path beyond playing sports!
Special thanks to the business community which saw the vision and assisted with the financial burden so that it was FREE to 160 athletes from the Mahoning Valley and the Cleveland Area!!
Lastly, the day couldn’t have happened without the panelist, volunteers (Canton, Orlando, Nassau Bahamas, and local), YSU administration, and restaurants: Outback Steakhouse (Warren and Boardman) BJ’s Restaurant, Hyer Society and Chrissy Conlon for capturing the moments that I’ll be posting soon!
A special honorarium goes to my friend and Pastor, Todd Johnson, who did everything except for sell popcorn! (Audio, Video, Moderator and News Cameraman)
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Grad & Go! Session 3

Game Changers proudly concluded our pilot year of Career Fitness at Warren G. Harding High School—our final session of the season and a special one held at our founder’s alma mater. This event brought together over 30 professionals from 20+ companies to prepare graduating seniors for the workforce through resume building, personal branding, and mock interviews.

A distinguished panel of leaders—including State Rep. Nick Santucci, Mayor Doug Franklin, Guy Coviello of the Regional Chamber, and Sterling Williams of the Port Authority—shared insights on economic development in the Mahoning Valley. HR executives from Berk Enterprises and AVI Foodsystems offered practical career advice, while mental health expert Queenie Lathan addressed how to manage life transitions.

Special thanks to Pastor Todd Johnson for moderating, and to all partners who made this impactful day possible. We look forward to expanding these partnerships in progressive school districts across the region.

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Grad & Go! Session 2

Yesterday was Game Changers second session of our newest program, “GRAD and GO!! Grad and Go is a four part series of personal and professional development for graduating Seniors! This particular session was built around “Financial Fitness” with over 100 seniors at Harding in attendance!!
For my people who grew up watching the Cosby Show, I had to break out the classic clip of Bill teaching Theo Economics 101 with Monopoly money!!
That said, before we got too deep into finances, we talked about “Mental Fitness.” I invited some counselors of Cadence Care Network, which is a resource within WCS, to talk about their roles and dealing with— how to think about life’s challenges/opportunities when it comes to finances. If we’re honest with ourselves, a lot of challenges we have in life can be traced to good/bad financial management. I want our students to do better than us!!
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Hometown Holidays Christmas in The Square

Another Cookie Decoration Station in the books for Game Changers!!
Thanks to the volunteers especially my SOAR crew and Football Players from John F. Kennedy Catholic School for helping us raise funds to donate to Toys for Tots!!
Thanks for everyone who came out to support, and our sponsors: West & Main – Bar & Grill, Starbucks (Elm Rd.) and Walmart (Millennium Blvd.) Happy Holidays!!
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Christmas Toy Drive and Distribution

Even though the high schoolers affiliated with Game Changers were in class this morning, a few of my college guys came out to represent!!
Shout/Out to the Warren Family Mission for hosting another great gift giving event, where parents/guardians were able to select 5-6 additional gifts per child—ensuring their kiddo had something under the tree!
OF COURSE—we (Christians) understand Christmas isn’t about toys and a tree!! BUT if you leverage these opportunities correctly, you can share the “True Gift” with people as you come in contact with them. Jesus is Love! Jesus is the True Gift!
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Warren Family Mission Thanksgiving Food Drive

Shout/Out to all of the students who made it out today to the Warren Family Mission Men’s Facility to support Game Changers, annual, thanksgiving meal prep and distribution. From 6th-12th grade, both John F. Kennedy Catholic School and Warren City Schools. These students were focused!!
One of Game Changers core values is SERVICE!! Grateful to be able to have this group of young people decide to help prepare meals for over 2,000 individuals who are in nursing homes, shelters, or challenged with food insecurity. Our future looks brighter with selflessness like this!!
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2024 Game Changer’s Sip & Paint

Thank you to EVERY adult, restaurant, and corperate sponsor who helped by purchasing a ticket, donating, or sponsoring the event to ensure our young people had the opportunity to be a part of something positively memorable with resident artist Sonya Davenport!!

We had tons of amazing prizes that we raffled off as well as a smorgas board of food for those who attended as well as drinks and good music to make a memorable night!

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Grad and GO! Session 1

Game Changers Leadership and Peer Mentoring Initiative launched our pilot program “Grad and Go!” at my alma mater, Warren G Harding High School!
The day consisted of three different rotations of 180+ seniors, engaged in personal and professional development. This is one of the three sessions in this post. The goal continues to be to make certain our next generation of leaders are given top-tier programming and experiences that will both engage and have them consider becoming the best versions of themselves. This particular session dealt with LIFE TRANSITIONS as they prepare themselves for one of the biggest transitions of their lives!
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2024 Phil Annarella Legacy Scholarship Award

Game Changers proudly recognized Camille Richardson and Mia Jones as the 2024 College Ambassadors for their outstanding achievements in academics, athletics, and community service. Together, they completed over 100 hours of service during their senior year.

Camille held several leadership roles, including Secretary positions in Student Council and National Honor Society, while competing in volleyball. She graduated with a 4.343 GPA and planned to attend The Ohio State University as a Biology Pre-Med major.

Mia served as President of both the National Honor Society and Student Council, and founded “Essentials for the Essential,” supporting local students. A soccer player and Majorette, she graduated with a 4.387 GPA and also committed to Ohio State to study Radiology.

Both received the Phil Annarella Legacy Scholarship and joined the “Pro Sports Experience,” connecting with leaders who transitioned from sports to professional careers.

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