Youth participate in traveling stage play to keep Wilmington community center from closing

Youth participate in play to keep Wilmington community center from closing

A gospel stage play is raising money to keep a youth community center in Wilmington, Delaware from closing.

WILMINGTON, DE - A gospel stage play is raising money to keep a Wilmington youth community center from closing.

What we know:

The Stop the Violence Prayer Chain Foundation is a non-profit based in Wilmington, Delaware. 

Its founder says the foundation’s children’s community center is in need of funding to stay open. 

They are putting on a gospel play to raise money.

What they're saying:

"I always wanted to be an actor and stuff like I love acting," said 17-year-old Jekhi Carter.

He’s excited about his role in the gospel stage play called ‘Stubborn is as Stubborn Does.' He shares a scene with 17-year-old Justin Dye.

"When people say actions speak louder than words, as we're out here acting we're speaking louder than words," said Dye.

The play explores the dark side of what's destroying many communities, like gun violence, drug and alcohol addiction and broken families.

"It's about a mother who is just stubborn. She really doesn't care much about her children. Her ex-husband is a pastor and he is trying to get her change her ways," said 16-year-old Shinae’Ja Gonzalez-Cooper.

A small part of the cast is practicing tonight at Yesha Worship Center in Point Breeze, one of the locations where the play will take stage. But they're from Wilmington, Delaware, where they're part of the non-profit Stop The Violence Prayer Chain Foundation and its children's community center. 

The play is a fundraiser to help keep the center from closing.

"We don't have funding to really do our summer youth program and our reading program we do every summer," said Pastor Guy.  

She says she works with the youth in Wilmington, New Castle and surrounding areas in Delaware.

"It's important because we work with children, less fortunate children and low income that have lost loved ones to gun or domestic violence," she said.

"I was also out in the streets and all that so she came and swooped me right up," said Dye.

Gonzalez-Cooper says the center is saving youths and providing them with opportunities.

"This is where we come and we learn a whole bunch of new stuff," she said. "It keeps us out of the streets and doing drugs and a whole bunch of other stuff that most of these kids are doing now."

Pastor Guy says they will do what they can to keep the doors open as a safe haven for kids.

"The program has been really successful and if it closes the children that we serve aren't going to have anywhere to go for the summer," she said.

What's next:

Grab tickets to see their next play in Philadelphia here.

To donate to the non-profit, visit the Stop the Violence Prayer Chain Foundation website.