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A World Fit For Kids! 678 S. La Fayette Park Place Los Angeles, CA  90057 (213) 387-7712 A World Fit For Kids! (WFIT) is an exemplary physical activity and youth development program that recently received the Gold Medal from the California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports as the 2007 “outstanding organization that positively impacts physical activity and fitness levels of California’s children and youth.”  Fourteen years of experience and serving over 130,000 students has equipped WFIT to successfully get kids moving and becoming healthy role models in some of the most economically challenged communities of Los Angeles.  Today, improving students’ fitness levels and overall health is critically important in order to combat the massive economic and social ills of overweight and inactivity, including childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes.

WFIT addresses several social issues at once: fitness, personal development, school graduation rates, job skills and job readiness for teens and college students,   and fitness, homework assistance, school connectedness and mentoring for younger children.  WFIT is successful because it intentionally develops emotional, mental and physical fitness, and keeps elementary through high school youth actively engaged in positive activities after school. The goal is for each student to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to make healthy lifestyle choices that will stay with them for a lifetime.  WFIT uses physical activity, nutrition and mentoring as the hooks to create meaningful experiences that

encourage each individual’s understanding of both themselves and the world they live in.   A learn-by-doing format builds students’ personal and academic development, leadership and life skills.  This strategy for success has led to the permanent employment of many program alumni and has positively impacted the attitudes of young students toward the importance of physical fitness, health and well-being. WFIT Coach/Mentors make fitness fun because they are trained to involve students in standardized programs and curricula in fun and effective ways; interweaving youth development practices and principles with physical activity, nutrition and academic programming.  Coach/Mentors also integrate fun, functional and formal physical activities, teaching that healthful activity can be informal and innovative; it doesn’t require trips to the gym.  All programming is aligned with academic standards and includes Sport for All, Salsa, Sabor Y Salud, SPARK, Children’s Power Play!, Deal Me In, Sport Wall/Smart Wall and other standardized curriculum. Since its inception in 1993, over 130,000 students have been directly served by WFIT.  Currently we conduct after school programming at six elementary schools,  three middle schools, and three high schools in the Los Angeles area.  We also provide TSTP training to additional high school students who are interested in working with younger youth, moving thousands of teens toward responsible adulthood while benefiting tens of thousands of elementary school children who they mentor. Over 700 teens have been trained and placed as assistant coach/mentors in after school programs since 1994, teaching fitness and nutrition to younger kids.  The results are impressive; in 2006, teen participants’ grade point averages increased overall by 51% over seven months and their fitness scores improved dramatically.  Since 2003, 100% of participating TSTP seniors have graduated from high school.  WFIT provides the following consulting, training and support to youth-serving organizations interested in implementing quality physical activity programming or our teen success model: Mentors in MotionSM (physical activity leadership training) - Participants increase confidence and competency in conducting inclusive physical activity sessions which are safe, meaningful, and fun. Teen Success Training ProgramSM (TSTP) – High school students participate in over 35 hours of self-building activities and experiential learning and 24 hours of community service that result in improved health and well-being, higher graduation rates, work readiness and jobs. A World Fit For Kids! changes lives through the powerful format of older kids teaching younger kids about fit behavior and making healthy choices.  WFIT addresses the growing childhood obesity epidemic, and inspires and educates teens and college students to be positive role models who make a difference in the lives of the youth they coach and mentor.

For more information about A World Fit For Kids!, email us at info@worldfitforkids.org All contents contained herein, Copyright © 2001, A World Fit For Kids!. All rights reserved. No portion of the content of this site may be reproduced, republished, or redistributed.