Our 3rd Annual Pancakes & Poetry!

On Monday, America SCORES New York held the 3rd Annual "Pancakes & Poetry’ event at one of our favorite uptown venues, Home Sweet Harlem!

Kindly sponsored by Societe Generale, this event is certainly unique because it not only showcases the incredible literary skills of our poet-athletes, but it also gives their families, friends, and coaches the opportunity to learn more about each of them through a guided panel discussion. And, of course, there's great food served by Donna and her team, so you can't ask for much more than that!

This was ASNY's first year of having Pancakes & Poetry as an exclusively middle-school event, letting the older poet-athletes showcase their insights and thoughtfully written words. New Design Middle School, PS MS 161, and Hamilton Grange Middle School coaches and teachers brought some stellar poet-athletes to Home Sweet Harlem, a cozy café in the epicenter of our SCORES stomping ground, where everyone was able to enjoy delicious waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, yogurt, and, of course, pancakes.

After everyone was full of syrup, we heard from Jean-François Despoux, Societe Generale’s Head of Global Finance & Investment Banking in the Americas, who really engaged our poet-athletes and got them excited about the evening ahead!

Our host, Shanelle, led the panel discussion with some insightful questions for our poet-athletes that encouraged them to share why they enjoy writing poetry, what challenges they see within their community, and what America SCORES means to them. Then, it was finally time for the students to recite their poetry! Most students recited their award-winning poems that they wrote for Poetry SLAM back in December, and some even wrote brand-new poems for the event. The topics ranged from soccer to social justice, but they all had one thing in common: they impressed all in attendance!

A huge thank you to Societe Generale for sponsoring and attending the event; our poet-athletes loved having you there!

A special shout out to Donna from Home Sweet Harlem for feeding us all and for making us feel right at home!