UPDATE 7/19/19
Due to the heat wave expected in the city this weekend, we reget to announce that the NYC Tri has been canceled. Eli and I remain comitted to raising funds for the TriLatino organization and have decided to tackle another race on August 18 in the Finger Lakes region called Peasantman Tri. We thank you for your continued support and generosity.
Sincerely,
Eli and Jae
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Welcome! Thank you for taking the time to visit our campaign page. We are Eli and Jae and we are participating in the upcoming NYC Triathlon as a relay team taking place on Sunday, July 21, 2019 and WE need your help raising money for our Youth program within TriLatino Triathlon Club!
It takes a village to uplift communities and WE need YOU to be part of our village to make a difference in our youth.
Your contribution to TriLatino makes it possible to sustain and provide the platform of triathlon and endurance sports to the TLJRs (TriLatino Juniors) so they can learn the foundations of proper nutrition, physical discipline and leadership to become ambassadors on healthy living within their communities. Our Youth program is run by dedicated volunteers, free to the students and fully funded by generous donors like you. Most of the students who participate were not active and learned to swim, ride a bike and run as a result of our program.
TriLatino Triathlon Club, Inc. (a 501c3 organization) was founded in 2009 with the organizational mission of: Increasing the participation of Latinos in triathlon (swim, bike, run) and endurance sports while promoting healthy lifestyles, increasing the representation of underrepresented culturally and ethnically identifiable groups in order to uplift the community.
As part of our effort to fulfill and expand this mission, we have partnered with various Bronx based high schools, to recruit students to explore the sport of triathlon. Through these partnerships, we have been able to create a one of a kind after school program, where we teach these youth, not only important life skills, but discipline to complete the goals they set out for themselves. They learn about, proper nutrition, fitness through weekly training sessions and most importantly, show them how all of these things add up to create a positive, long-term impact in their lives.
The program entails a 16-week triathlon training consisting of swim, bike, run and yoga sessions and culminates with the students competing in a sprint distance triathlon. Participation is life-altering, intensive and seeks to address the multifaceted needs of our Bronx youth through:
· Physical Training and Competition
· Academic Tutoring and Support
· Healthy Lifestyle Workshops (HLW)
· Healthcare and Nutrition Access
· Mentorship
· Family and Community Outreach
Since 2010, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin have released the County Health Ranking & Roadmaps Report that measures health outcomes and the critical role that non-health related factors like education, employment, income and the environment play in a community’s health and the quality of life of their residents. The Bronx County ranked last at, 62 out of the 62 counties in New York State.
According to the office of the Mayor, NYC youth ages 10-17 are at an obesity rate of 15. 3% and high school students rank 32 in the nation in youth obesity. While high school education rates have increased in NYC, Latino and African American students are still 35% less likely to complete high school than their peers. 12.5% of the population in NYC has diabetes and 5.4 M (35%) of the population is prediabetic. The impact of diabetes hits Latino/Hispanic and African American New Yorkers even harder. Of those diagnosed with diabetes 28% are Latinos/Hispanics in the New York City market, and 31% are African Americans.
Since 2011, TriLatino has been making the TLJR program available to more Bronx youth free of charge. Such a program does not exist anywhere in the United States. TriLatino is doing everything possible to decrease the percentage of youth obesity and increasing the graduation rates amongst inner-city Bronx youth. We achieve these goals through our ongoing relationships with Bronx based training facilities and working in conjunction with these committed community partners, so we can ensure a successful annual TLJR that will have a profound impact on the students in the Mott Haven and Concourse sections of the Bronx.
In our first year of running the TLJR program, we had eight participants. We continue to grow and expand. Many of our athletes continue in the program as they move up in grade until they graduate. Additionally, we have many students who encourage their siblings to participate in the program. In the next five years the TLJR Program hopes to successfully train 50 TLJRs per year to cross the finish line of a sprint distance triathlon, physically fit, more knowledgeable and with a greater degree of confidence than when they began.
The goal of the TLJR program is to simultaneously train our Juniors to not only achieve their race goal, but more importantly assist them through a comprehensive and holistic personal development program that endeavors to improve their academics, self-confidence, knowledge and awareness, while also engaging them as ambassadors of health to their families and broader communities.
Help us reach our goal by donating today!
-Eli and Jae
