November Newsletter
Student Spotlight: Mercedes MLK
Mercedes is a senior at Martin Luther King Jr H.S. in Cleveland. She is a dedicated student leader who is up for the challenge and embraces everything JKL has to offer on her campus.
This Cleveland High School is one of two inaugural programs that started this Fall. Since the program’s inception, Mercedes has not missed one session and has been a great advocate for recruiting her peers to join! Fitness is her favorite component of the program thus far, in particular, squat exercises and weightlifting.
Mercedes comes from a background of doing lots of community service projects with her youth group. She is eager to get her peers excited about community service projects like feeding the homeless in her local community. Mercedes plans on taking full advantage of the JKL program to help her lose 20 lbs by May 2018. She is such a vibrant light that is setting the example of what an active member looks like.
After graduation, Mercedes has aspirations of attending Eastern Michigan where she would like to obtain a business degree and open her own beauty salon.
Samsung Gives Back Event
Samsung recently hosted an “Evening for Giving Back” in New York highlighting JKL and the work we do. We have worked with Samsung in the past, and we were honored to once again partner with a company who has such strong philanthropic ties.
The intimate event, held in a loft in the Soho neighborhood, celebrated their new Frame TV, which combines design with technology, and transforms into a beautiful work of art when no one is watching. JKL Founders, Camila and Matthew McConaughey attended the event, and Matthew gave a heartfelt and informative speech to the crowd about the work we do here at the Foundation.
Perhaps the best part of the evening was that two of our j.k. livin students from our Roosevelt High School program in Washington D.C., Kamara and Hermela, as well as our D.C. Site Coordinator (and former JKL teacher) Quinn Flowers, were able to come in for the event. Ms. Flowers gave a moving speech (Kamara said a few touching words as well), and the students loved being in the Big Apple (one of them for the first time!), getting to do some site-seeing, a bus tour, and shopping. They were also each gifted with a brand new tablet! We are proud to partner with Samsung to help serve more amazing kids together!
Cleveland Making Strides
Our two Cleveland JKL programs, John Adams and Martin Luther King Jr High School, made some strides in October! In support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, both programs participated in the “Making Strides of Cleveland Walk/Race Event.”
This was a special day for two of our JKL instructors who both have breast cancer survivors in their families and one who sadly lost a family member to the disease. It was great to have our JKL students walk 3 miles alongside their JKL instructors who walked in remembrance and support of their family members.
The event took place in downtown Cleveland at the Public Square where over 1,500 people were in attendance. The event raised over $74,000 to go towards innovative breast cancer research. An event like this is awesome because we are able to educate our JKL students and provide them with the opportunity to give back and have a fun physical workout in the process.
Washington Redskins 4th & Life High School Football Forum
The Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation hosted their 15th annual 4th & Life High School Football Forum at the FedEx Field on October 10th. The Forum brings together a panel of current and former NFL players to prepare the high school student-athletes in attendance for life after football.
The panel consisted of Doc Walker (who emceed the panel discussion), Joe Ehrmann, Chris Carter, Kyshoen Jarrett, Anthony Lanier and Josh Wilson. All five men touched on a variety of topics and the event provided students and coaches with valuable tools and life lessons about prioritizing academics, preparing for college and discovering their passion outside of football.
We are so grateful to the Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation for including JKL students from both Roosevelt and Ballou High School to this wonderful event!
Adidas Community Service Day
Adidas recently brought 700 of their employees from all over the country to LA for a “Day of Service,” and the just keep livin Foundation was lucky enough to be one of the nonprofit organizations selected to participate in this prestigious event!
Twenty JKL students from Huntington Park High School joined the team at Hollenbeck Middle School to partake in a variety sports clinics – soccer, volleyball, basketball – led by Adidas staff, as well as campus beautification efforts. JKL students were paired up with the middle school participants, allowing them to not only learn new athletic skills, but to also provide a bit of “mentoring” as well.
Through our involvement with this event, JKL has also been given a donation of new sports equipment including 100 soccer balls, 50 basketballs, 200 pairs of shorts, shin guards, cones and more from Good Sports! Thank you Adidas for including us in such a fun and rewarding opportunity!
Ryan Gray-Guest Speaker at Venice High School
The JKL students from Venice High School in Los Angeles enjoyed a fun and interactive session with Ryan Gray. Ryan shared his story growing up in Hawaii and his experiences as a stuntman, Martial Artist and his interest in health and wellness.
Ryan also touched on the importance of finding your “bliss” and pursuing what makes you happy which resonated with the group! Students were introduced to a variety of percussion instruments which they also had a chance to try out as well as learn some Capoeira moves! Capoeira is an art which combines self-defense, dance and music.
The JKL students were thoroughly engaged as they enjoyed the musical instruments and were able to bring together music, dance and martial arts in this fun filled session!
Ranch Clean Up Day
On October 1st, 20 students from our Animo Inglewood JKL program and three of our awesome alumni assisted in beautifying the E.L.S.A. ranch in Calabasas, CA.
E.L.S.A. (Experience Learning Support with Animals) is a nonprofit organization that serves individuals with special needs and at-risk youth through the benefits of equine-assisted activities in a ranch setting. They opened up their ranch for our students to enhance a few areas on their grounds. We built a much-needed chicken run, created a huge compost pile, detailed all tack equipment and renovated their oak tree turnout.
Students and staff worked hand-in-hand together to accomplish tasks with smiles and laughter. The event was a huge success and ended with a giant gratitude circle and fresh squeezed lemonade. We are looking forward to collaborating with E.L.S.A. in the near future to provide more community service opportunities for our JKL students.
Coaches Corner with Jenn Zerling
Shorter workouts are just as beneficial as longer ones. I have written many many multi-chain workouts that are short through the Huff Post HERE.
Click HERE for 3 additional 10 minute cardio plans for your convenience.
Even if you only get 10 minutes in a day, it is better than nothing. Remember, you only need 200 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous intensity. That can be split into however you’d like. Let’s make it happen!