false 2009-03-26T18:46:49-07:00 <p>&nbsp;I will never forget the day Xenia walked through the doors of FIT with her head down possessing little to no self-esteem.&nbsp; She portrayed the typical model of an individual with Down Syndrome and the plethora of health problems they are faced with.&nbsp; She was soon running through the doors, hugging and high fiving everyone and was even caught posing in the mirror as she turned from side to side to admire herself.&nbsp; She turned to me with tears in her eyes and exclaimed, &ldquo;Look at me!&nbsp; I&rsquo;m amazing!!&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p></p><p><p>I started FITBuddies seeking to combine two of my passions:&nbsp; I wanted to focus on the health and wellness of individuals with intellectual disabilities.&nbsp; Three years later, FITBuddies, small group training for individuals with special needs, has surpassed all my hopes and expectations.</p></p><p><p>Individuals with intellectual disabilities wage constant battle trying to fit into our society.&nbsp; Exclusion, failure, and a lack of self worth are simply part of life&rsquo;s daily battle. The FITBuddies program is scaled to meet the needs of the individuals but pushes them beyond what most think possible.&nbsp; They train together alongside others who can witness first hand that they can do the same things as everyone else.&nbsp; The effect of being a part of a community and achieving success in their pursuit of physical fitness is overwhelmingly empowering.</p></p><p><p>Participants have gone from shy individuals lacking confidence, repeatedly telling me &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t do it, it&rsquo;s too hard&rdquo; to exclaiming, &ldquo;I can learn something new; it just takes practice!&rdquo;&nbsp; They have proven, if given the opportunity, time and ongoing instruction, they can and will learn and adapt &ldquo;just like you and me.&rdquo;&nbsp; Jeremy provides an example of how this increased confidence and sense of achievement carries over into their everyday lives. Jeremy has progressed from a deconditioned, uncertain individual to a confident Starbucks employee, giving presentations to promote employment for individuals with special needs.&nbsp; He credits the confidence he&rsquo;s gained through FITBuddies as one of the keys to his achievements.</p></p><p><p>My current goal is to expand the FITBuddies program nationwide providing training and guidelines for professionals, facilities and parents/caregivers who are interested in providing professional, physical training to individuals with intellectual disabilities.&nbsp; If granted the money, I will be able to accomplish many of my goals and continue my quest to help improve the health and wellness of this special population one buddy at a time.</p></p><p></p> aTvLzlA8eqllvkab8P4pmk false true true 2009-05-31T13:28:28-07:00 0 true 0 false false false 1 FITBuddies...Training the Athlete in EveryBUDDY 2009-09-13T12:37:18-07:00 c2JYLIAjKqllvkab8P4pmk FITBuddies 1129 0 dY1Ghod6ZhRBWr3AL8abBw