WASHINGTON — The Langdon Park Community Center in the Langdon neighborhood is home to the Chuck Brown memorial and other amenities. It's nestled in a neighborhood with traditional rowhomes on tree-lined streets, and it serves a place where children can thrive. It's just one of the reasons why residents love where they live.
DC Department of Parks and Recreation Director Theenie Freeman let us know everything that the community center has to offer, from mentors and resources, to basketball courts and a swimming pool. Freeman says the rec center is where the magic happens.
"If you can think it, if you can dream it, the Department of Parks and Rec can make it happen," Freeman said.
The homegrown DPR Elite Starz Cheer Team knows that firsthand. Since 2018, the squad has been nationally recognized.
Under the lights of competition at The One Cheer and Dance Global Finals in Orlando, Florida, the team secured a legacy for Parks and Rec. They have the hardware to prove it.
The secret to the award-winning squad isn't just their skills, but also their message.
"Every song has something about the nation's capital, something about home, something about D.C.," said cheer coach K'Yanna Blackwell. For Blackwell, it's about more than dance.
"We instill life skills, values. They build relationships and independence. For some of us, it's who we become," she said.
Blackwell said it feels like a full-circle moment.
"I started as a rec baby at the age of 8. Look at me now! Still here," Blackwell said.
She's ensuring the next generation of Langdon youth continues to love where they live.
If you have someone or someplace you want us to highlight as part of our Love Where You Live series, text it to us at 202-895-5599 or tweet at us using #GetUpDC.
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