759 goes to Capitol Hill

We would like to thank our Sponsors Sentator E. Benjamin Nelson and Senator Jeff Sessions for a fantastic celebration of Scouting on Capitol Hill last week with the screening of 759 in the Congressional Auditorium.  We also would like to thank Al Lambert and Dan Ross and everyone else at the National Capital Area Council for making the event a success.  Willie Iles Jr. from the National Office and Ron Timmons and Brian Gorman from the Greater New York Councils also played important roles and gave tremendous support.

We thought you would enjoy some photos of 759 on the Hill…

Celebration of Scouting on Capitol Hill

A letter from Senator Ben Nelson & Senator Jeff Sessions

Celebration of Scouting on Capitol Hill…Screening Oct 8th

Here is the official invitation to the screening of 759 on Capitol Hill.  All are welcome but you do need to RSVP…

INVITATION TO A SPECIAL CAPITOL HILL SCREENING

759: BOY SCOUTS OF HARLEM….a documentary film

Sponsored by Senators Jeff Sessions and Senator Ben Nelson

Thursday, October 8^th, 2009

5:30 PM sharp

Capitol Hill Visitor’s Center

Congressional Auditorium – CVC 200

Enter on First Street & E. Capitol Street and allow time to clear security

You are invited to attend the Washington, DC premiere of the film 759: Boy Scouts of Harlem to celebrate Scouting and its contribution to American values. The Sponsors, members of Troop 759 and local and national Scouting representatives will be present and a Q&A with the filmmakers will follow the screening.

Please come to this exciting DC premiere of the film.  The event is free but you’ll have to RSVP at dcscreening@gmail.com or call Justin Szlasa at 917.355.9895.

This is an open invitation so please forward it to friends, colleagues or Scouters who you think might be interested to attend.

ABOUT THE FILM

The film follows Boy Scout Troop 759, a Troop located in Harlem, NY, and eleven-year-old scout Keith Dozier who takes his first trip to a Scout summer camp. The film shows, in a fun way, how Scouting can transcend geography, age, race and economics to teach practical skills and build character among America’s youth.  It is the first major documentary ever made about a Boy Scout Troop and celebrates Scouting’s contribution to America in one of America’s most iconic neighborhoods. The film is warm, tender, funny and upbeat.  You can learn more about the film and watch the trailer at www.harlemscouts.com.

ABOUT THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA

The Boy Scouts of America is the largest youth scouting organization in the United States and will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2010.  Since 1910, more than 111,000,000 people have been members of the Boy Scouts of America, including over 215 currently serving Members of Congress and Senators.  In 1916, Congress granted the Boy Scouts of America a Federal charter.

Jamesburg-Monroe, NJ Screening Sponsored by Troop 54 Oct 17th

We are very happy to announce that the good folks at Troop 54 of Jamesburg-Monroe are sponsoring a screening on Saturday, October 17th at 7PM at the Jamesburg Presbyterian Church
(Corner of Gatzmer & Church St. in Jamesburg, NJ). More information about the screening and Troop 54 is available at www.T54.us. Thanks!

Philadelphia Premiere

The Cradle of Liberty Council and the African American Museum of Philadelphia hosted a fantastic premiere on Thursday evening. Eagle Scout, KYW-TV Sports Director and former NFL defensive back Beasley Reece introduced the film.  Beasley, who played for the Giants (among other teams) has the kind of booming voice and magnetic charisma that makes him one of absolute coolest Eagle Scouts Jake and I have ever had the pleasure to meet.  He also still looks like he wouldn’t have trouble slipping through most O-lines.  Below, Beasley addresses the crowd.

After the screening Eagle Scout Judge John Braxton (who is also an extraordinary guy who bursts with charisma) introduced me and Jake for a quick Q&A with the audience. 

The 200+ capacity audience, which included Councilman Frank Rizzo Jr., seemed to really enjoy the film. 

Local Scouts were on hand to show off the Council’s collection of historic Scout uniforms to celebrate 100 years of Scouting.  This guy pictured below is wearing a uniform from 1918 which the Cradle of Liberty Council dug out of their basement.

The Scouts fielded questions from a member of the local press which was on hand to cover the event.

Finally, we had the pleasure to meet Uberscouter and “759″ fan Ann Perrone who was actually the first person to buy a copy of our DVD.  Below, she snaps a photo of the local talent.

We’d like to thank Chuck Eaton and the crew at the Cradle of Liberty Council for hosting a fantastic screening in the City of Brotherly Love.  If you’d like to host a similar event in your area we’d love to help make it happen.  Just drop us a line at justin@harlemscouts.com

Boy Scouts of Colombo

On August 3rd “759″ was screened at the US Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka. We would like to thank the Embassy staff for giving us this opportunity–and we were thrilled and a bit surprised that the film attracted a capacity-crowd. Scouting is the largest youth organization in the world with over 38 million active members operating in just about every country in the world–including Sri Lanka.

There were a local Scouts in the audience and, as far as Colombo is from Harlem, Scouting served as a kind of common ground. After the film, Jake was drilled with questions by the audience and endured a crush of fans looking for autographs. We hear an encore performance is in the works. Thank you Sri Lanka!

Gettysburg Festival – video

We cut together a quick piece that includes some of the reactions to our recent screening in Gettysburg.  Thank you to everyone at the Gettysburg Festival and the Majestic Theater–it was a terrific event and over 500 people turned out!

Harlem World Premiere at the Schomburg Center

We thought 759 fans would enjoy this video from the red-carped world-premiere in Harlem hosted by the Junior Scholar’s Program at the Schomburg Center in the Village of Harlem.

At the Gettysburg Festival…

We were very honored to be part of this year’s Gettysburg Festival where our film had its ‘Pennsylvania Premiere’ at the beautiful Majestic Theater.  A crowd of almost 600 enjoyed the free screening and Jeffrey Gabel, the Executive Director of the Majestic Theater, led a spirited Q&A after the screening.  Thank you Gettysburg for a great evening!

759 on the Majestic Marquee

Justin & Jake with some area Scouts

Jeffrey Gabel of the Gettysburg Festival leads the Q&A

Northern Exposure

Here is a review we just from Heather in Canada…

I just attended what may have been the Canadian premier of Boy Scouts of Harlem – in my livingroom in North Vancouver, British Columbia with my 13 year old son, Farley.  At first he was simply watching to appease his mother, who wanted to see a film produced by her friend, Justin.  But as soon as one of the boy scouts farted on the luggage rack at camp, Farley allowed himself to get closer to the characters.  There are differences, but there are many similarities, too.  My son is around the same age as the boys in the film; he participated in Cubs for a number of years; he has far more strong female than male role models in his life; and he often finds parts of life more challenging than they appear to be for other kids his age.   As Keith attempted to swim, climb or adjust to a night in the tent, Farley commisserated with his fear, angst, frustration and exhaustion.  And when Keith successfully swam two lengths of the outdoor pool area in order to progress to “beginner” swimmer, there were several cheers in our livingroom and they weren’t just coming from the mother sitting in the room.

The success of the boys of Troop 759 represents the hope for success of children everywhere.  The parents among us who sometimes worry that life may have become too hard for our children need these reminders that there are saints out there willing to help us to teach our children courage and determination.  And these boys remind us that children are always ready to rise to challenge if given the chance.

Let’s ensure we live in a world that is always ready to give a child that chance.  Bravo Boy Scouts of Harlem, their leaders, and those who brought this poignant story to us!