active schools Archives - Athletes for Hope

Athletes for Hope and Active Schools 2018 #MYBESTMOVE campaign!

Posted: October 8, 2018 by Brooke McMillan

On September 24^th-28^th during Athletes for Active Schools Week, AFH and Active Schools teamed up to support physical education in public schools and encourage families to be physically active together at school, home and in the community. We asked athletes to help raise awareness and show their support in two different ways,

In-person School visits: Visit a school in your local area and share how you exercise as well as explain your sport and inspire kids to get moving!

Social Media: For those who couldn’t make it out to any schools we asked them to post a video or picture of their best move with the hashtag #MyBestMove and challenge their friends to do the same.

Sports of all kinds showed their support. From volleyball, track and field, soccer, football, wrestling, baseball, skiing, field hockey and even ice dancing, these athletes all participated at their local schools or showcased their best move online.

“Physical education is so important to me and I’m so thankful that Athletes for Hope provided a fun opportunity to show my support and raise awareness online and in the community.” –Megan Oyster, Seattle Reign

AFH member athlete, Omo Osaghae, spent the afternoon running and playing games with the kids from Cook Elementary in Austin. Omo worked with the kids to find their favorite physical activity.

AFH member athlete Kendra Chambers shared her favorite workout to show her support for physical activity in public schools.

The women of MSU Field hockey shared some awesome moves in support of Active Schools and physical education in public schools.

Thank you to all of the Athletes for Hope athletes who participated in the campaign online and visited kids in person.

My Best Move

Posted: September 25, 2018 by Brooke McMillan

This week we are partnering with Active Schools, an organization whose mission is to increase the level of physical activity in children. In the United States, two-thirds of all kids aren’t moving enough. Our friends at Active Schools are trying to change that by making physical activity in schools a priority. AFH member athletes are hitting the streets and taking to social media week to show their support for physical education in public schools. Professional, Olympic and college athletes are working with PE teachers to share how they exercise and explain a little about their sport to elementary school aged kids.

We know not all athletes are able to make the trek out in person to schools this week, so we created an opportunity for to raise awareness of the importance of physical education in public schools right from home or the gym.

Take a short video of you performing your favorite physical activity
Upload to Instagram or Twitter
Use #MyBestMove and share why physical activity is important to you

We can’t wait to see your best moves online this week. Make sure to tag us on social in your posts! FInd us on Instagram @AtheltesforHope and on Twitter @Ath4Hope.

Show Us Your Best Move During Active Schools Week

Posted: August 28, 2018 by Brooke McMillan

We are calling on all professional, Olympic and college AFH member athletes to join us for Athletes for Active Schools Week (September 24-28), a joint initiative between Athletes for Hope and Active Schools, to encourage families to be physically active together at school, home and in the community. This year, we are encouraging parents and children to become more active in working together to make physical activity a priority. AFH athletes will help deliver this message during the week of September 24th.

You can engage with Athletes for Active Schools Week in the following ways:

In-person School Visit: Visit a school in your local area and inspire kids to get moving! If you are interested, let us know where you will be (city/state) during the week of September 24th. We can still arrange a school visit during a different week if it works better with your schedule.
Show us your Best Move: Record a short video (60 seconds or less) that shows your best move. It can be a sports move, a dance move or something you do in training. Upload it to Twitter or Instagram with #MyBestMove and challenge your followers to do the same. Kids from all over the country will be sharing their best moves in PE class, so keep an eye out for some fun videos during the month using the #MyBestMove hashtag.

This campaign depends on you! Help us make physical activity a priority and keep our kids on the path to becoming healthier adults. Please contact us if you would like to participate!

Giving Back Online

Posted: August 16, 2018 Updated: August 16, 2018 by Brooke McMillan

Between training sessions and responsibilities to teams, athletes are often stretched thin. This can make it difficult to find time to volunteer your time. At Athletes for Hope, we work hard to find meaningful ways to give back to your community on your schedule. That is why we offer several ways to lend a hand online throughout the year. Below are a few great virtual ways to help:

Share with Others:
Athletes for Hope has a presence on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and posts throughout the day. We encourage you to check out our online profiles and retweet, comment or share posts that speak to you. All you need to participate in the conversation is a social media account. We encourage you to tag AFH in posts about your in-person connections. See something online about a cause that interests you? Tag us! We are always looking to retweet or share information about other charities.

Take Part in a DreamWakers Connection:
Athletes for Hope connects classrooms to career role models over video chat because students can’t BE what they can’t SEE. Only things are required to participate in a DreamWakers visit are an adequate internet connection, 45 minutes of your time and the desire to share your wisdom with kids.

Participate in an Online Campaign:
Athletes for Hope works with national community partners throughout the year to highlight their mission. We often work to create a way to participate in shining a light on the featured organization online. Examples of past online efforts include the #5forPE video challenge supporting Active Schools. The only requirement to participate in online campaigns is the ability to post to the social network of your choice.

Chime in during Twitter Chats:
Twitter chats are a great way to show your support for an organization or raise awareness for a cause important to you. You don’t have to be a Twitter expert to take part in these chats. Prior to the event, we provide all athletes with a document explaining how to participate and are on standby to provide you with help if needed. All you need to participate is an active Twitter account and an hour of time. Previous Twitter chat topics focused on sports and gender equality and how to encourage physical activity in children.

We offer several ways to give back online throughout the year. You will receive an email about these opportunities in advance so that you may book time into your busy schedules. Contact Athletes for Hope to make sure your email address is up to date for our files.

AFH Fit Closes Out the School Year

Posted: July 11, 2018 by Brooke McMillan

It’s been another great year for the AFH Fit program! AFH Fit encompasses all of the charitable work that AFH members perform in the physical fitness space, including key partners Active Schools, Marathon Kids, and Power Up. This year, there were 132 AFH Fit Visits between these programs. There were 51 visits to 28 different Active Schools, 57 visits to 25 different Marathon Kids clubs, and 24 visits to 3 different Power Up Programs. Forty-six athletes visited AFH Fit programs representing USATF, USA Skiing, Skateboarding, NWSL, NFL, NBA, NHL, WTA, and Softball. The visits took place in 31 different markets ranging from Philadelphia, PA to Phoenix, AZ to Seattle, WA to many more cities in between.

Our AFH U teams were very involved with AFH Fit visits this year. Eight teams from three different schools visited Active Schools, Marathon Kids, or partook in Community Events. In Lansing, Michigan State Field Hockey did twelve Active School visits between two schools and Michigan State Men’s Soccer did nine Active School Visits. In Baton Rouge, LSU Volleyball did six Active School and one Marathon Kids visit and LSU Swim and Dive took part in a Community Event. Also in Baton Rouge, Southern University Baseball, Softball, Volleyball, and SAAC all took part in an AFH Fit visit.

This year, AFH Fit partnered with Marathon Kids for the first time. AFH members engaged with Marathon Kids via in-person visits and online engagements. Many of the in-person visits were running sessions or special events speakers session. Often times, running sessions occurred during recurring visits. For example, Shannon Boxx of the USWNT visited West Tualatin Elementary School three months in a row to host running sessions. The online engagement occurred as a part of the Amplify Austin fundraising campaign. It was spearheaded by Sanya Richards-Ross of USATF visiting the Marathon Kids run-a-thon.

Athletes Support Active Communities

Posted: October 24, 2017 Updated: October 24, 2017 by bsanchez

This September, we put a call out for our member athletes to join us for Athletes for Active Communities Week, a joint initiative between Athletes for Hope, Marathon Kids, and Active Schools to help children become more physically active. This year, we encouraged communities to become more active, particularly children and parents, in working together to make physical activity a daily priority.

This special campaign had two components. An in-person visit and a video challenge. Over 30 athletes visited schools, Marathon Kids location all over the US. Athletes and teams also recorded short videos explaining why physical activity is important. Check out this great campaign video put together by the Boston Breakers.

Thanks to all who participated in person or online. Your efforts will help encourage kids and the communities in which you live to get more active.