Ortiz de Dominguez Elementary School, 3000 S. Lawndale Ave., was located on the border between two prominent rival gangs’ territory in the Little Village neighborhood.

The “2-6” and the “Latin Kings” members no longer run the space, and now it is used as a recreation site in a community lacking areas to come together.

Beyond the Ball, an award-winning non-profit organization that uses sports to bind the community together, came about because of gang violence that occurred near the home of Executive Director Rob Castaneda.

After witnessing a shooting, Castaneda called the police. In retaliation the gang attempted to burn down his house

three times.

“[The last time] they threw a bottle through the window and threatened to kill him,” said Brent Michel, director of marketing and development for Beyond the Ball.

According to Michel, Castaneda and his wife contemplated moving out of the neighborhood but decided to stay after members of the girl’s basketball team at Little Village Academy came to their home.

“They shed tears of support for them and told [the Castaneda family], ‘You can’t leave the neighborhood. You told us all the time to stand up to the gangs. Don’t be intimidated and you need to do that [yourselves],’”Michel said.

After making the decision to continue living in their Little Village home, the plans to stop gang violence began to take shape.

Approximately three years ago, Beyond the Ball launched “Project Play,” a program designed to reduce gang violence in the neighborhood.

The program’s mission is to teach participants leadership, teamwork, responsibility, community values and respect.

“It’s more about creating relationships,” said Mike Torres, a youth coordinator. “We are not just going to tell them to stay away from gangs. It’s about staying in school and [being] involved in the community.”

Dominguez Elementary hosts the program on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Tuesday’s “Project Play” is run by youth coordinators who lead some of the activities, such as open gyms and

developmental camps.

According to Michel, the school has one of the only open spaces in the neighborhood, and, because it is in the center of Little Village, it is the easiest for the community to get to. He also said the gang violence has receded since Beyond the Ball began.

“It’s the community’s space [and] it’s being used in a positive way again,” Michel  said.

In April 2010, Beyond the Ball decided it was not enough to host activites on the space; they needed to clean up and creamore park and garden areas. They started a

program named “Our Little Village,” which aims to eventually clean  up  the entire neighborhood.

Around the corner from Dominguez Elementary is Gary Elementary, 3740 W. 31st St., better known by the children involved with Beyond the Ball as “Scary Gary.” The children’s nickname for the school is based on its appearance prior to the founding of “Our Little Village.”

More than 700 people showed up to help renovate in April. They repainted three buildings and removed graffiti from one of the buildings.

Last fall, Beyond Sport, an international organization that recognizes the use of sports for social good, honored Beyond the Ball with an award for the Most Courageous Use of Sports. Beyond the Ball was chosen out of more than 400 entries in 120 different countries.