UCLA Health Sound Body Sound Mind hosted a fitness center opening ceremony at Crescenta Valley High School on Oct. 21. This opening is part of the Glendale Unified expansion project, which is the first time in the program’s 20-year history where resources have been expanded to every middle and high school in a district in a single project.

The ceremony unveiled the new equipment the high school received that included cycle bikes, hand ergometers and fitness accessories. State Senator Anthony Portantino was in attendance at the ceremony.

 The Glendale Unified expansion project, made possible by an anonymous donation on behalf of UCLA Health, has enabled SBSM to install fitness centers in every middle and high school in the Glendale Unified School District, which will benefit over 13,000 students annually. All Glendale schools also received SBSM accessories, which include exercise mats, cones, agility ladders, tennis balls, jump ropes, a jump rope cart and sandbells. To maximize the use of the equipment, every PE teacher has been trained in the SBSM fitness curriculum, and they will also be trained in the SBSM nutrition curriculum this fall.

Matt Flesock, the executive director of the program, is proud to provide the schools with a comprehensive fitness center.

“Our collaboration with the Glendale school district strengthens our commitment to serving students in greater Los Angeles,” Flesock said.

Beyond Glendale, Sound Body Sound Mind has provided under-resourced middle and high schools with new fitness centers, curriculums and professional development for staff for over 20 years. The program has provided equipment to more than 145 middle and high schools and impacts nearly 200,000 students annually.  

Submitted by UCLA Sound Body, Sound Mind