Champions of Change

Champions of Change Blog

  • Transforming Lives through Running—One Child at a Time

    Posted by Shawanda Weems on March 22, 2012 at 1:25 PM EDT

    “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”–Mahatma Ghandi

    It is with humility that I am honored to be a White House Champion of Change. The calling to serve has been passed down from my mother, Peggy Weems, who was a special-education teacher’s assistant in Queens for over twenty years. On weekends, she would gather my sisters and me as she did work in our local church, and those memories were my foundation, shaping my innate desire to be of service to others. Like Ghandi, my desire to “be that change” led me to the New York Road Runners—an organization that has helped me bring physical fitness to my students so that we can eradicate childhood obesity, one child at a time.

    I first came to the New York Road Runners in 2004, under the leadership of  Cliff Sperber, when Loraine Pitteruff and I, both middle-school teachers, found ourselves witnessing the effects of our students’ inactivity. Besides the physical weight gain, a kind of lethargy and reluctance to take risks permeated the classroom. At the same time, we were seeing how the all-too-common tendency in urban schools towards academic progress often came at the expense of physical education. As such, the only opportunities our school offered were a girls’ and boys’ basketball team, which presumed a base level of fitness that many of our students didn’t possess. Searching NYRR online yielded information about the development of a youth division, and our program took off from there.

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  • Coaching for Success: A Winning Approach

    Posted by Cameron Hajialiakbar on March 22, 2012 at 1:12 PM EDT

    I am honored and humbled to receive the Champions of Change award and to be in the prestigious company of so many amazing Americans.  Building a country that truly reflects the American dream is going to take a movement, a Corps if you will, of committed and passionate people working in concert to end the health and educational disparities that exist in our country. I volunteer with Coaching Corps because our laser focus is on increasing the physical, emotional and social health for the kids who need it most.

    I was fortunate growing up.  My family ensured I was exposed to a myriad of opportunities that shaped the content of my character and of my life. This was particularly true when it came to sports. By the time I was four years old, I knew how to swim and was actively playing soccer and baseball. Those early years of sports activities, and the committed and caring coaches I was lucky enough to have, taught me important life skills that I carried with me off of the field and into my life.

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  • Organizing the Community for Healthier Lifestyles

    Posted by Sarah Bucher on March 22, 2012 at 1:06 PM EDT

    It is with great pleasure that I, along with the YMCA and JCC of Greater Toledo, accept the honor of being a White House 'Let's Move! and Physical Activity Champion of Change.’ I am blessed to work for a great organization, alongside community leaders and partners who support the efforts for improved health and well being in our community. 

    I began my career with the YMCA in 2003, leading efforts for worksite wellness and childhood obesity. I have a passion for health and wellness and truly enjoy working with people to make changes for a better lifestyle.  It is inspiring to help people identify small adjustments in their lives that can have a huge impact in accomplishing their larger goals. 

    Across the nation, and in greater Toledo, there is a crisis of chronic diseases including: heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. The number of deaths attributed to these diseases is staggering and growing.  Left unchecked, the current trend in health will leave our youngest generation with the prospect of having a shorter average life expectancy than its parents.

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  • Race of a Lifetime: The Culmination of Passion, Knowledge & Experience

    Posted by Melissa Stockwell on March 22, 2012 at 1:05 PM EDT

    In January of 2011 we took our idea, our dream and launched it by starting the Dare2tri Paratriathlon Club! There is no real epiphany moment that any of us can remember about how we decided to start the club. It was just 3 friends, all triathletes with a passion for the sport and the knowledge that it has the power to change lives. Dan and Keri work in the field of disabled sports, Keri for Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association and Dan for the Chicago Park District. Melissa is a two time world champion Paratriathlete and a prosthetist. Starting a Paratri club just seemed like the perfect platform for us to combine our passion, knowledge and experiences. We enlisted the help of the most qualified coach we knew, Stacee Seay, and we had put together our team. With about $8,000 in grant money from the Olympic Opportunity Fund we were launched.  We found out that the grant was funded just before it was announced that Paratriathlon would debut at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Our timing could not be more perfect.

    Our original goals were conservative to say the least. We thought if we could get 8-10 people to participate in a triathlon we would have been successful. The interest and excitement for our Paratriathlon program blew us away. Currently we have over 85 youth, adult and injured service members on the roster and more than 150 committed and dedicated volunteers and we continue to grow. We provide our athletes of all ages and experience levels with bi-weekly practices, multisport clinics, individualized coaching, race entry assistance, uniforms, specific training plans and more. We also provide and maintain the adaptive equipment and make it available to our athletes for both practices and races. Our club motto is ‘One Inspires Many’ as we not only inspire each other but inspire the surrounding community. We could not be more thrilled with the momentum of the club or more proud of the community we have created. In just one year we have created something that was just an idea of ours and made it into something real. Our vision and dream is alive and thriving.

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  • Soccer as a Vehicle for Social Change

    Posted by Hector Avila on March 22, 2012 at 12:57 PM EDT

    Being recognized by the White House as a “Let’s Move! and Physical Activity Champion of Change” has made me reflect on all my past mentors and the impact of their positive role modeling in my life. It has also made me aware of the importance of my work through the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, and the lives we change every day through sports activities. My mentors taught me the importance of community work and the impact you can make through inner-city youth sports in low income communities. I believe youth sports are a tool to build communities and to unite people for a common purpose. They have given me a chance to become a role model for young people. The sport of soccer has changed my life and the lives of the young people who take part in the City of Houston’s Soccer for Success program.

    When I was 16 years old, a coach from Houston Parks and Recreation Department gave me the opportunity to play in the only City-sponsored soccer program.  Houston was the first city offering soccer programming for free to all participants. When I was 18, I took a job with the City and began teaching soccer to young people, who like myself, were looking to sports as a way to a better life.  Fourteen years and hundreds of children later, I look back at my life and remember the opportunity that soccer has given me. I think of my mom raising her family of 16 and the difference soccer has made in my life.  I hope that now as a soccer coach and youth mentor I can pass on the opportunity I was given to another child. I’d say I’m blessed to have had the opportunity to learn soccer when I was 16 and to have made that my career. I want to continue my work through soccer and positively impact the lives of young people in Houston through Soccer for Success.

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  • Recreation Employees Make a Difference

    Posted by Andre Ashley on March 22, 2012 at 12:45 PM EDT

    It is a great honor to be recognized on a National level by being selected as a White House Champion of Change. This honor has caught me by surprise, I enjoy the opportunity to give young people an outlet for an active lifestyle, and love the city of Portland in which I help provide these services.

    As a youth growing up in Portland, Oregon, I always participated in various Parks and Recreation programs. I received a great personal experience that was fun. Also, I was able to learn from and work with my role models who started these programs in my neighborhood. I learned to swim at Buckman Pool in Southeast Portland, held my first tennis racket at the Portland Tennis Center in Northeast Portland, and improved my basketball skills in the Goldenball Basketball program at Matt Dishman Community Center.

    As a young man, I had a great respect for Recreation employees and volunteers who spent countless hours of their time developing recreational programs and instruction to youth. I knew I wanted to give back to the community and provide youth of today the same opportunities the previous generation provided for me. As the Sports Management Supervisor for Portland Parks and Recreation, my job is more than a title. Recreation and physical activity play a huge role in the lives of many Americans. It helps build self esteem, create diversity, manage stress and well-being, deters crime, and offers a place for healthy interaction. The benefits are endless. It is a personal investment into the lives of thousands of kids who participate in youth sports in the City of Portland.

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