U.S. Athletes Who Promote Health and Fitness

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In continuation of Health Fitness Revolution’s effort to recognize the healthy and fit leaders and celebrities of the world, we cannot forget to recognize the athletes who do their part to promote healthy lifestyles. Of course, by nature, athletes are required to stay fit and healthy in order to be successful in their careers, which means this list could include thousands of individuals. Therefore, our goal in creating this list is to recognize those athletes who devote their efforts to promoting a healthy lifestyle to their fans and encouraging the youth of the world to be active and fit. Athletes who promote health and fitness are paramount to spreading the message of healthy lifestyle to fans!

“Professional athletes are the best natural ambassadors for spreading the message of healthy lifestyle and their involvement can tremendously impact the negative health effects of obesity that are plaguing the U.S.”  –Samir Becic founder of Health Fitness Revolution

Here are the commendable athletes in alphabetical order:

David Akers – Football

david akers

  • In 2001, the Akers family formed the David Akers Kicks for Kids Foundation, which has established programs with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to benefit sick children and their families
  • The HKK team provides interactive programs that directly benefit children who face serious challenges in their lives whether due to mental or physical challenges or the environment in which they live.

Ray Allen – Basketball

ray allen

  • Founded The Ray of Hope Foundation, which assist with sports-related and community-based programs and provides avenues of opportunity through which our youth can “hope” to realize their full potential
  • The foundation builds and refurbishes computer labs in public elementary and middle school
  • Envision developing youth centers in underserved communities that provide after school programing designed fo foster a mix of scholarship, culture, sports and imagination that can change the world
  • The Ray of Hope Foundation has raised over $750,000 to help organizations such as AAU Programs, Alliance for Education, B.E.L.L., Big Brother Big Sisters, Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, Boston Centers for Youth and Families, and Boy’s & Girls Club of Boston

Carmelo Anthony – Basketball

carmelo anthony

  • Founded The Carmelo Anthony Foundation which gives back to the community through a variety of outreach programs and donation
  • His mission is to positively impact the lives of those living in under-served communities through 3 key focus areas — education, recreation & community outreach
  • Recognized for making charitable donation in excess of $4 million for projects in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland and Syracuse, New York

Matt Bonner – Basketball

matt bonner

  • Founded the Rock On Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to support artistic and athletic opportunities for youth in a variety of communities
  • This foundation’s mission is to renovate public basketball courts, provide financial aid for underprivileged youth interested in art and music, assist with the development of new community art program, help at-risk youth to attend life skills basketball camps, and help fund a Police Activities youth basketball league
  • He believes that whether it’s on the court, on stage or in the classroom, everyone should have the opportunity to do the things they love

Kobe Bryant – Basketball

kobe bryant

  • Spoke about the importance of health and fitness during the Kobe Bryant Health and Fitness Weekend in Dubai
  • Established Kobe Inc. to own and grow brands in the sports industry
  • The official ambassador for After-School All-Stars, an American non-profit organization that provides after-school programs to children; their mission includes helping children be healthy and active

Tim Duncan – Basketball

tim duncan

  • Created the Tim Duncan Foundation in December 21, 2001
  • His foundation funds nonprofit organizations in the areas of education, youth sports and recreation, and health awareness and research
  • He has raised over $650,000 for Breast and Prostate Cancer detection, prevention, and treatment
  • He donated $142,000 to the San Antonio branch of the American Cancer Society to aid in nationwide Breast and Prostate Cancer research
  • He selected the San Antonio’s Children’s Shelter, the largest and oldest shelter for abused, abandoned, and neglected children in Bexar County to receive his $25,000 Home Team Community Service Award
  • His foundation donated $50,000 to Kids Sports Network, a nonprofit association that promotes quality sports for kids

Larry Fitzgerald – Football

larry fitzgerald

  • Founder of Larry Fitzgerald First Down Fund
  • The Larry Fitzgerald First Down Fund was established by Larry Fitzgerald Jr. to help kids and their families by funding positive activities for kids during the summer and throughout the year
  • Supports kids and families in crisis, and supporting health-related organizations that work with families
  • Donated 1,000 new Riddell Youth football helmets to The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board MPRB’s youth football program

Doug Flutie – Football

doug flutie

  • Founded the Flutie Foundation in honor of his son
  • Program to help people with autism to get access to care
  • Help lead more active healthy lifestyle
  • Help people with autism to grow toward adult independence

Tony Hawk – Skateboarding

tony hawk

  • Founded The Tony Hawk Foundation
  • Sought to foster lasting improvements in society with an emphasis on supporting and empowering youths
  • Supports recreational programs focusing on the creation of public skateboard parks
  • To-date, 466 Tony Hawk Foundation grant recipients have opened their skateparks. These parks receive more than 4.8-million visits annually by youth who benefit from the active lifestyle and camaraderie the facilities promote

Dwight Howard – Basketball

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  • One of the ambassadors of Dribble to Stop Diabetes, a campaign designed to encourage basketball fans to live an active, healthy lifestyle and raise awareness about diabetes
  • Starred in a “got milk?” Milk Mustache print advertisement and explained that being part of the campaign “helps me communicate to teens the importance of making the right choices, like drinking milk, since it helps build muscle, strengthen bones and has the unique mix of nutrients to refuel after exercise”
  • In 2013, used part of his off-season time to encourage kids and families to live active and healthy lifestyles, teaming up with the Walt Disney Co. as part of its health-focused competition, “Disney TRYathlon”

LeBron James – Basketball

lebron james

  • Founded the LeBron James Family Foundation
  • Focused on positively affect the lives of children and young adults through education and co-curricular educational initiatives
  • Believes that an education and living an active, healthy lifestyle is pivotal to the development of children and young adults
  • Supports After-School All-Stars which offers academic support, enrichment opportunities, and health/fitness activities

Derek Jeter – Baseball

derek jeter

  • Founder of TURN 2
  • Creates and support signature programs and activities that motivate young people to turn away from drugs and alcohol and lead healthy lifestyles
  • Goal is to see the children grow safely and successfully into adulthood and become leaders of tomorrow

Cullen Jones – Olympic Swimmer

cullen jones

  • U.S. Olympic swimmer Cullen Jones, a relay gold medalist in Beijing, is the chief spokesman for Make a Splash
  • Have programs that save lives and build champions in the pool and in life
  • Gives every child an opportunity to learn how to swim
  • Drowning is the 2nd leading cause of unintentional death to children under the age of 14

Devin and Jason McCourty – Football

devin and jason mccourty

  • Partnered to establish the Tackle Sickle Cell campaign, which raises awareness and funds for the fight against sickle cell disease
  • Host a kids’ football skills camp in his hometown each summer
  • Ambassadors for the United Way of America and the NFL’s Fuel Up to Play 60 program, which promotes healthy lifestyles for children
  • In 2014, Devin McCourty visited Swampscott Middle School as part of the Fuel Up to Play 60 program and encouraged the children to eat well and exercise regularly

Shannon Miller – Olympic Gymnast

shannon miller

  • Founded the Shannon Miller Foundation
  • Dedicated to fight childhood obesity
  • The Shannon Miller Foundation offers children the opportunity to be physically active, and gain greater nutritional knowledge
  • Through education and awareness of the health risks associated with obesity, Shannon strives to make a positive impact on children’s health
  • Has a Running Club that sponsors a free in-school program which supports more than 7,000 children ages 5 through 14

Steve Nash – Basketball

steve nash

  • Founded the Steve Nash Foundation
  • His foundation is dedicated to assisting underserved children in their health, personal development, education and enjoyment of life
  • Believes that every child has the right to be healthy, to have a good education, to live in an environment that contributes to her well-being, to his personal development

Michael Phelps – Olympic Swimmer

michael phelps

  • Founded the Michael Phelps Foundation
  • Focused on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthy and active lives, especially for children
  • This program encourages increased participation in health and fitness activities, and personal empowerment through informed planning and goal-setting strategies

Paul Pierce – Basketball

paul pierce

  • Stresses the importance of leading healthy lifestyles to kids throughout the country
  • “I’ve been dedicated to helping kids have the right tools and information they need in order to lead healthy and active lifestyles through my Truth on Health Campaign.“
  • Founder of The Truth Fund, Truth on Health and FitClub34
  • He tries to incorporate physical fitness and healthy eating
  • He encourages a commitment or pledge of at least 60 minutes per day dedicated to physical activity

Michael Robinson – Football

michael robinson

  • Purchased 10 Fresh Healthy Vending Combo machines to install into schools, businesses, and community centers
  • Founded the Excel to Excellence Foundation, Inc.
  • As part of the non-profit, Robinson mobilizes his NFL teammates and friends to lead free, youth football camps
  • “I want to be able to provide resources for good health to as many people as I can”

Andy Roddick – Tennis

andy roddick

  • Founded the Andy Roddick Foundation
  • Work with the community to expand opportunities for young people to learn, thrive, and succeed
  • Focus on out-of-school time such as afterschool, summers, weekends, and vacation when students are at risk of losing academic skills, being a victim of violent crime, gaining weight by not being physically active, and engaging in risky behaviors
  • Wants to transform that time into hours of opportunity, and high-quality out-of-school time programs can have a positive and lasting effect on students by keeping them safe, engaged, and active
  • His passion was to help children without the same opportunities he had growing up

Allen Rossum – Football

allen rossum

  • Always having a heart for community service, He formed the Healthy Kids Klub to help fight and eradicate childhood obesity across america
  • Works with entire family to provide education on healthy lifestyles
  • Emphasize good eating habits (nutrition) combined with athletic programs (healthy activities)
  • Within the first five years, over 1500 backpacks filled with school supplies were given to children in need in the cities of Atlanta, San Francisco, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles, Albuquerque, Dallas and New Orleans. The backpacks were filled with school supplies, a HKK work out CD and healthy recipes.

Vijay Singh – Golf

vijay sinqh

  • Founded The Vijay Singh Charitable Foundation which assist and support women and children who are victims of domestic abuse
  • Supports the Navy SEAL Foundations’ which provides educational support through scholarships and tuition assistance; to promote health and welfare programs
  • His charities includes Birdies for the Brave,
  • Navy SEAL foundation, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Amani Toomer – Football

amani toomer

  • Founded the Amani Toomer Foundation to contribute to after-school programs
  • Amani Toomer part of the Jason Garrett’s foundation taught kids at a local inner-city school techniques of proper route running and anything else the kids wanted to learn
  • His main interest is helping out kids because they’re at the age where they can go the right way or the wrong way. He wants to get them on the right path through athletics or anything else that gets kids off the streets

J. J. Watt – Football

jjwatt

  • Met a 12-year-old victim of bullying and surprised him with a game of football and a lifelong membership to the YMCA
  • Starred in a PLAY 60 PSA in 2013 (NFL PLAY 60 is a league-wide initiative promoting youth health and wellness by encouraging kids to be physically active at least 60 minutes each day)
  • President and founder of the Justin J. Watt Foundation, a charity organization that provides after-school opportunities for children in the community to become involved in athletics

Negatives

  • One of the top contributors among star athletes in promoting and marketing unhealthy food

Madieu Williams – Football

madieu williams

  • Founded The Madieu Williams Foundation which focused on education, health and fitness for underprivileged youth both in United States and Sierra Leone
  • Contributed to the building of the Abigail D. Butcher Primary School in Calabatown, Sierra Leone
  • Built a playground in his hometown Maryland in September 2011
  • Implemented an after school program in the Prince Georges County Public School System focusing on three areas; Health (Physical activity), Education, and Life Skills for students in 3rd-6th grade
  • His foundation is committed to improving the quality of life and perpetuates the advance of capabilities to help people live better lives in 2012 and beyond

Serena Williams – Tennis

serena williams

  • Hosted and ran The Serena Williams Ultimate Run South Beach to raise money for charity
  • Said doing her charity based on running is “a really fun way to promote a healthy lifestyle”
  • In 1995, Serena, Venus, and their father, Richard, conducted a clinic with the California Tennis Association for Underprivileged Youths, which has grown into a year-round tutoring/tennis academy
  • The Venus and Serena Williams Tennis Academy trains youth tennis players and promotes a healthy lifestyle through sports training
  • The academy also strives to combat obesity and diabetes in children

Negatives

  • One of the top contributors among star athletes in promoting and marketing unhealthy food

Russell Wilson – Football

russell wilson

  • Active Volunteer in the seattle community
  • Makes weekly visits to Seattle’s Children’s Hospital on his days off
  • Hosts the Russell Wilson Passing Academy (a youth football camp)
  • In 21012  proceeds from the camp went to Charles Ray III Diabetes Association.
  • Raised over $220,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

4 COMMENTS

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