Run for your life!
Run for your life is Triple Threat’s new running program. It’s about more than running, though. It’s also about not giving up no matter what challenges life throws your way.
Check out our Facebook page soon for more on this!
Category: Volunteer
Jr. Einsteins and Triple Threat
Jr. Einsteins is a new Triple Threat program meant to take critical thinking to the next level.
Not only will a select group of Triple Threat students get to learn how the mind processes information, but their mental abilities will be put to the test in group challenges.
Want to flex your brain muscle and volunteer? Let us know!
Celebrate Our Children is days away!
You only need two hands to count the number of days until one of Triple Threat’s biggest celebrations of the year.
On Saturday, August 14th, from 12 – 4pm, Triple Threat will team up with the City of Aurora, area churches, non-profits and volunteers to offer the annual urban festival for youth called Celebrate our Children. Last year, about 2,000 people filed into East Aurora’s McCarty Park to enjoy the free event that features live entertainment and special attractions, rides, carnival games, prizes, community booths and more. Plan now to volunteer and join the fun.
Here’s a schedule of performances:
12 p.m. — Welcome and Opening Ceremony
12:15 p.m. — Singer Mark Leatham
12:45 p.m. — Hip Hop ConnXion Dance Group
1:30 p.m. — Merry Hearts Clowns
2 p.m. — Magician David Shareef
2:45 p.m. — Sal Escobedo’s Tae Kwon Do
3:00 p.m. — Hoola hoop contest
3:15 p.m — Triple Threat drum circle
3:45 p.m. — Jump rope contest
Stay connected to our Facebook and Twitter accounts for more details and we hope to see you there!
Give them a hand!
The Soopah Team has finished its training this spring for the BMX track and will begin racing on June 5th! We have been working on getting the kids safety gear and one item they needed was gloves. Meckwear is an upcoming apparel company which donated gloves for the Soopah Team! Even though the company is in the startup phase the company’s owner, Brent Mecklenburg wanted to help out. The gloves have great hand protection and are very comfortable. The kids will keep the gloves and be involved in getting feedback to the company so they can improve the design.
For more information about Meckwear please email meckwear4u@gmail.com.
If you are interested in helping the Soopah Team get their safety gear please contact Nate@triplethreat.org
Dribble, pass, learn.
Fourth and fifth graders from Gates and Krug elementary schools will learn many lessons in Triple Threat’s basketball program.
Sure, they’ll learn to shoot the ball.
And their dribbling skills will surely improve.
That’s not entirely what the basketball program is about, though. While on-the-court skills are a building block of the program, off-the-court character is just as important.
With the help of East Aurora High School basketball players and other volunteers, Triple Threat seeks to build leadership skills in the youth it serves in this program.
The program meets at Krug Elementary on Mondays at 2:45 p.m. and Gates Elementary on Tuesdays at 2:45 p.m.
Feel the Beat
Feel the Beat is a hand drum program, teaching playing skills and beats on the djembe drum. It will be held at Krug Elementary with fourth grade youth for six weeks meeting on Tuesdays 3-4pm. The program will start on April 20th.
We are looking for volunteers! Experience is not required and fun will surely be had.
Contact Nate Miller for more info!
Souper Bowl of Caring
Triple Threat partnered with Fox Valley United Way for the Souper Bowl of Caring, a food drive held at Jewel-Osco locations throughout the Fox Valley area to collect food and donations for the Aurora Inter-Faith Food Pantry. On Saturday, Feb. 6, from 9am – noon, Caleb, Aurora youth, and Triple Threat volunteers served at the Jewel-Osco on Lake St. collecting food and donations. Together (9 area grocery stores and over 160 volunteers) were able to raise over $4,000.00 in cash donations and over 2,200 lbs of food donations for local food pantries.
A Tale of Two Toms
How would you react to the news that you lost your job? Or perhaps you’re one of the more fortunate people whose job is secure in this volatile job market. And although you’re thankful for a full time job, you long to have some quality time to invest in difference-making volunteerism. Read how these “two Toms” both uniquely responded to the circumstances they found themselves in. We applaud their courage and initiative to keep their focus outward and choose to serve those less fortunate in their own community – all while making their families pretty proud. Way to go guys!
Triple Threat has been inspired in the past month by the story of two “Toms.” Like so many, Tom #1 experienced a job loss as a result of cutbacks due in an unstable economy. In the face of uncertainty, he decided to redeem his time while awaiting re-employment and focus on service. So he volunteered his time and talents to help with some Triple Threat projects and events. Tom #2 is employed full time, but really wanted to increase his serving quotient. He made some adjustments in his work schedule to allow him to volunteer one day each week with Triple Threat. Immediately he began using his passion and gifts to help organize projects and event needs, and simply serve where needed. Both Toms are planning on mentoring youth this spring through the Triple Threat bike program. Thanks Toms – and thanks to all our volunteers who partner with us to serve youth. Together we can make a difference.
I Am Somebody
Recently a group of students from Northwestern University partnered with Triple Threat to offer an Academics workshop for students living in Jericho Circle, an Aurora Housing Authority community. One of the NWU students, Jessica Holden, told of her own experience growing up as a disadvantaged youth. She shared her story with under-resourced youth to encourage them to dream big and reach to their potential. And she did it through an incredible poem she wrote titled “I Am Somebody.” Click HERE to listen to Jessica’s amazing true story.
A Christmas to Remember
It all started when I decided to use my December 2009 Motiv8nU Fundraiser Party to give someone special a great Christmas present!! After connecting with Caleb Luper we chose an under-resourced high school girl involved in Triple Threat programs and her family.
I went around town gathering donated raffle items: massages, gym memberships, restaurant gift cards, gift baskets, etc. The day of the fundraiser, a nasty snowstorm kept away half of my guests. We raised $100 that day, but needs far outweighed wants for the girl we wanted to help. Guests and friends continued to bring gifts in.
I wanted this to be special, meaningful, and comfortable for her, and her mom and family. So I wrote a poem in a journal for her. Everyone included a personal message inside so she’d have a real connection with those that had helped her. Gathering the gifts, we arrived at her home. I read the poem to her and we distributed gifts: things she needed, some things she wanted, something special to earn, some items for siblings, and even something for her to give to her mom!
Smiles lit up faces. It was actually pretty emotional for all of us. I shared my personal story about when I was 16, living in my car and showering in the gym. Being homeless is tough and I wanted her to see that hard work, dedication, character, and perseverance do pay off! Honestly this was the best Christmas because all of us that contributed were able to see what the true Christmas spirit is really about. And we made some great new friends in East Aurora!
Staci Boyer, a Triple Threat partner , is a personal trainer, motivational speaker, and founder of Motiv8nU. Watch for Staci’s first book Motvi8nU to be published December 2010!