Marching Elite Foundation addresses teen troubles through music, year-round programming

As the school year comes to an end, worries about the "teen takeover" trend continue to grow. But, there is a program in Baltimore City looking to help teens take over differently. 

The Marching Elite Foundation is a Baltimore City-based youth development program all about music and changing lives.

The organization is for young people ages 4 to 24 who have been in the justice system or simply need a musical outlet. The program uses the marching arts, dance, and creativity to stay focused year-round. 

"One band, one sound" could be the key 

"It's not like football. You are carrying more weight than a football pad or helmet twice a week. So, the drum I play is 70 pounds," said Kamari Weaver, a quad/section leader of the standard percussion with the Marching Elite. 

Weaver joined the program five years ago to help him get on the right path. 

"I would skip two, or I would fight a lot, or I just didn't feel like I wanted to do something," Weaver said. "I was looking for a male figure to replace my father, so we were doing stuff because we didn't have that guidance on how to become a man. Because in my world, a woman turns a baby into a boy, but that Man figure turns him into a man."

This is where executive director and founder Dennis Lee Jr. and his team come in. They started the program in 2006 to teach them music, career readiness, life skills, and much more.

"They don't have to have an instrument. We provide the instrument. We provide the instruction," said Lee, the executive director and founder of Marching Elite Foundation. "We have Thanksgiving as a band together. We have Christmas parties together. There's no time off."

Aniyah Bess, a program leader, said that her story isn't like her peers. She said that joining the band is what helped improve her mental health through dance. 

"I really don't worry about what's going on at school or really what's going on at home, but just to kind of feel safe within myself and a safe within a space with other people," said Aniyah Bess, A. Elite Flame lead. 

Saving summer programming 

Lee told WJZ that many of the resources for the program is due to the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund (BCYF), but they need more help as funding for their summer program shrinks. 

"When you ask the question about teens and the summer and violence and things you have to, we, collectively as a community, have to support those programs that are doing the work," said Lee. 

"Normally, I could serve 200 youth over the summer. This summer, I'm probably going to be about 50-60 years old, and again, that doesn't mean the service stops. That just means the impact changes. And if that's happened to the Marching Elite, how many other programs is that happening to."

"I used to be one of them kids, like 13-12, when I go to the link up and just being around the other thing a lot of times, the reason why they're doing that is because nobody is asking us how we're doing," Weaver said. 

"The key is continued access. Continued programming," Lee added. "But many of us, even myself, we're concerned about what's going to happen during the summer. For me, I'm deeply concerned to keep the youth I'm serving safe. The one way I know that truly happens is you have to support the programs that are truly doing the work in the community serving those youth."

Whether you're a prospective student, parent, donor, or community partner, you can learn more about Marching Elite by visiting their website.