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Hi Everyone,

We’ve got another big weekend planned.  I’on is planning a fitness expo with a swim-a-thon and a 5hour spinning marathon all to benefit Louie’s Kids!!

Please come on out and join us.  It’s this Saturday, May 9th.  It’s another all day event so bring a friend and a smile.. and maybe  some sunscreen!  Check out the link here

Thanks and we look forward to seeing you there,

Bucky

Hey Everyone!!

This Saturday, April 4th, keep your eyes on the look out for Louie’s Kids.  We’re going to have a group of our kids plus a few tag alongs walking the bridge together for the Bridge Run.  We’re all very excited about this race.  We’ve been training hard over the past several weeks getting ready for this 10k.  Just like many of the other participants we plan on not just walking the Bridge Run but also jogging through parts of it.

It’s hard to imagine, but a few of our kids finally got on the bridge for the first time three weeks ago.  It was such an emotional moment for us all.

A very special thanks needs to go out to Jerry Scheer who is helping us organize an overnight with all of our participants so that we can have them all together for the walk/run.

We’ll be getting pictures up soon for all to see.  Thanks and stayed tuned.

-Bucky

Hey All!

Hope everyone is doing as good as we are at Fit Club.  The last few weeks have just been so exciting.  So much has been going on.  Recently, we had a level ceremony reward at the bowling alley, a pro-football player stopped by to give us all some advice on being healthy, and we had a visit by a portable rock wall.

We’ll start with the level reward ceremony at the bowling alley.  We had 6 kids go out to the alley with us.  We had 7 that advanced but 1 had a basketball game.  Talk about a lot of fun.  The girls were screaming and dancing and our two boys were trying to trying to keep up with the girls.  It was such a great time.  Louis was able to show his expert bowling skills.  Who knew it was his hidden talent.

Next, pro-football player ,Ove Mughelli of the Atlanta Falcons came and spent some time with our kids in a recent Fit Club session.  He was such a great inspiration to our kids.  He came in a did a quick description of himself and shared with the kids a bit of his personal story.  It’s so important that anytime we bring in a guest or even a staff member to talk with our kids that they can relate with our kids.  To be able to share a bit of themselves goes a long way with our kids.  He did a wonderful job telling the kids his personal journey, and the kids really seemed to grasp all that he had to say.  He also did a question and answer session at the end of his talk.  It was great to see all the kids so excited and asking him questions about his life and career.  We even got a great group shot with him at the end.

And last but not least, we were so thankful to have the rock wall come visit us again.  It was so amazing to hear and see our kids get up that wall.  The best part is that everyone had the right attitude about getting up that wall.  They all walked in that day telling me about how they are going to get “to the top” of the wall.  It was such a powerful experience for us all that day.

One final note.  The kids are all on their way to earning their shoes.  It feels like every sessions there is one child taking home their shoes.  It is so great to see them set goals and achieve them.  You can really see it in their eyes when they tell you that they will be taking home their shoes today

I’ve said it before and I will never stop saying it.  Thank you to everyone involved in making all this possible.  The kids are succeeding.  They are having fun, and they are still coming.  Our village is strong.

Join us Sunday, March 22, 2009 at 9:00am at the Bulow Landing off Davidson Road for the Wholly Cow Ice Cream & Coffee Ride. Celebrating 25 years & Benefiting the Louies Kids Organization. Wholly Cow Ice Cream & Coffee Ride

Hey Everyone!

This is Katie Ricks.  I am a senior at the College of Charleston and volunteered during the first half of the current Fit Club launch.  I have recently taken the position of running the physical activity.  At this point the staff and I are really focusing on continuing strong in the latter half of the program.  

Last week the kids in Fit Club got to experience a variety of new activities which implemented team work and numerous movements.  During the physical activity portion they were encouraged to continue moving at whatever pace they were comfortable.  My goal is to teach them a variety of movements so they can walk away from the program understanding that exercise comes in many forms and is what you make it!  The most popular activities, however, seemed to be the games ‘Simon Says’ and ‘Red light/Green light’; oldies but goodies.

I felt a great sense of joy while talking to a few of the students last week.  I asked several kids how they have changed from before they joined Fit Club to now.  One student reported she had had nonfat yogurt instead of cake at her cousin’s birthday party.  Another responded that she bought snack bars with fiber in them (the same ones we distribute during Fit Club), and was eating more fruit.  One of the boys responded that he could run faster now.  Though these may be little victories, they are huge steps for the kids!    

Although many of the Fit Club members have already made great progress, the staff and I continually strive to motivate and encourage each of them to keep working towards their goals.  In the upcoming weeks we have several activities planned and are excited to provide new opportunities!

Hey everybody,

Bucky here, hope everyone had a great holiday season.  Wow, I can’t believe it is 2009 already, and that we’re already more than halfway through Fit Club 2.  Things are going amazingly well as you can imagine.  The kids are working so hard to earn their shoes donated by TrySports from us.  Many are only a few stars away.

Let me just take a minute and update everyone about our Holiday Break.  We certainly had a nice two weeks of the school to ourselves.  We continued to meet during the break and had a blast.  We spent one session working on a rap song about Fit Club.  We divided the group into 2 parts with the boys being one group and the girls the other.  I must say I’m glad I took place in this because it was probably the most fun I’ve had in the longest time.  I helped with the boys group and we put together a little tune to the melody of the theme song for “the Fresh Prince of Bellair”.  The ladies went with the Christmas tune “the Tweleve days of Christmas”.  It was a blast.  We even hooked up a few microphones and performed them at the end of the session.  It was great!

We also had a great Yoga session during the break led by Andrew, a friend of Fit Club.  Andrew was amazing with our kids.  They were practically standing on their heads by the head of the session.  He brought the whole Yoga experience with him, and I can tell you that we all left that day feeling a lot better! Thanks again Andrew!

Now, we are back to our normal Fit Club schedule, and we only have a few weeks left.  You can tell the atmosphere and attitudes of everyone are changing.  Yesterday at Fit Club, we spent a good amount of time explaining the day in and day out routine of living that healthy lifestyle.  I really think we had some light bulbs going off.  Our RD,  Mary-Elyse Edgar, even said that this was the best they’ve done so far!  That’s an amazing compliment!

Well, that’s all for now but be sure to stay tuned.  We’ve got a lot more planned.  Let’s just say we like to end stronger than when we started!

Thanks for reading!!

Hey Everyone!

It’s Bucky here.  If you’ve been keeping up then you might have an idea of who I am, but if not then I’m part of the Fit Club team.  Things are going amazingly well with Fit Club 2.0.  Recently, we had TrySports down at Mitchell to help fit our kids with “top of the line” athletic shoes!  27 pairs to be exact!! Of course, it is because of the generous support of people who have donated time and money that helped put this together for our kids.  It really is amazing how a small group of people can make a difference.  I feel that it is our job to give an opportunity for a change to our kids, and it definitely helps when we have people like TrySports who are willing to share in this responsibility.

Let me give you the update on all that has been happening at Fit Club.  First, we have just about tripled in our size since our pilot launch.  We have three schools participating.  We are still meeting at Mitchell, but with the help of Durham and the Charleston County School Disctrict we have been able to get transportation to and from Fit Club.  Piggly Wiggly, again has been so wonderful to us.  They are donating 30 pieces of fruit and another low fat, high fiber snack.  The kids seem to love the FiberOne bars.

The kids are all working well together.  It’s been a great adjustment from our pilot launch.  In the physical activity side of things, we are having a blast.  We’ve done lost of walking (my personal favorite is walking backwards), laughing, some karate, and of course BALLOONS!  We still have a lot in store for the Fit Clubbers as well.  We are hoping to start some swimming in the coming weeks.  We’ve been waiting on our local pool to get prepared for the winter before we ventured to start swimming.  Our nutritional segment has been wonderful this time too.  We have a great RD that is lending a hand in all this.  She provides some great visual examples and does some great team building activities with our kids.

The group therapy seems to be right on target.  The kids are responding very well.  I’m not allowed to be around the group therapy stuff, but I can see and hear the difference in our kids voices and attitudes.  We’ve been losing weight too.  Over 60 pounds I believe.  So, as you can see we are movng along nicely.  It has been such an unbelieveable experience to watch and grow with this group and the program with louieskids.org.  It helps to be surrounded by the right people!

We’ve certainly been blessed this Holiday Season.  From the staff, to the children, and to the wonderful volunteers who are so key in making this program successful.  I really just want to say Thank You to everyone involved.  I hope you will keep reading, and I will keep writing so that everyone who has lent their helping hand can really see the difference we are making.

Have a great Christmas everyone!

Well, we just launched Fit Club phase II at Mitchell -but we welcomed Sanders-Clyde Elementary and Memminger Elementary schools into the fold. 27 kids from three schools grades 6, 7, and 8. They’re learning the ropes, getting to know one another and remaining pretty psyched about the process. 

We could not have done this without the support of folks like Piggly Wiggly Carolina, Women Making a Difference and our good friends at the Junior League of Charleston and the AMAZING folks from CCSD and Durham School services.

We meet at Mitchell every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30-5:30 and plan active physical fitness opportunities every Saturday. If you’d like to come check out the program or meet some of the kids give us a shout -we’d LOVE to have you check us out.

Here are some pictures of our first launch -the parent workshop. You can see us doing the “cha cha slide” -very successful with parents and kids (especially our therapist Millie!). You can also see Ms. Coakley (Parent Advocate) and Louis, founder of Louieskids.org giving families tips on how to be successful in Fit Club.

This one comes from Elliott in Nashville, Tennessee. He and his mom are amazing read on and pass to your pals-

Louis

On Oct 22, 2008, at 8:59 PM, 

Dear Louis:

 

Just a note to express my gratitude for continuing to make it possible for us to go to the Y.  We are still on our journeys, some weeks are better than others.  Elliot has lost a total of 38 lbs. and I have lost a total of 32 lbs. We continue to follow the 11 grams of fat or less a day. 

 

Elliot is working on his cycling merit badge with the scouts, they camped out and biked 20 miles on the Natchez Trace this past weekend.  He enjoys it.  Plus he just got invited to participate at Philmont in New Mexico this coming summer.  Its a two week back pack expedition with the scouts.  Not all scouts get this opportunity, but Elliot has proved his abilities as an avid back packer.  So we will be trying to get him in shape for that for sure, it will be a little more strenuous than anything he has done so far.  I think he has some reservations about it, but as well it can be motivation for him.

 

I will be doing my clinical exams at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta November 14, 15, and 16. I ask for your prayers.  I am wound like a top, its very nerve wracking preparing for this.  But I believe in the power of prayer, and I have just been asking people to say a prayer for me.

 

Once again I cannot thank you enough Louis, you truly are an angel that God has sent to us.

 

Love, Marguerite

 

 

If you missed Saturday’s yoga marathon I’m really so sorry you missed an amazing day in the rain. I got a perfectly titled email from a friend who joined us that said “thank you for bathing me!”

Stay tuned for pictures. Next year -and I’m already saying next year, next year, we will advertise rain or shine because it’s clear that this community this little union of folks can get a lot done.

One of my favorite all time quotes is perfectly suited for my humbly thanking each one of you that raised money, came out and continue to support us, it reads:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”  Margaret Mead
 

Thank you again yoga community of Charleston -I’ll be posting what we have raised as well as the winner of the airline tickets in the next two weeks.

Namaste