DC Students Walk Across America

              	           

Joy of Sports Foundation Challenges Schools, Businesses to "Walk Across
America" to Encourage Daily Physical Activity
WASHINGTON, May 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Joy of Sports Foundation
(JSF), a non-profit/for-impact organization dedicated to inspiring at-risk
children to grow healthy in body, mind, and spirit by teaching critical
life success skills through sports, nutrition, and education, announces its
"Call to Community" to join Walk Across America(TM) 2007 Presented by FBR.
Participating schools, businesses and individuals will join together to
encourage exercise, incorporate healthy choices into their lives and
inspire each other to get physically active. The event is from May 1
through May 10, 2007. On Tuesday, May 1, Walk Across America(TM) will
begin, featuring special "Kickoff Community Walks" at three JSF Healthy
Kids Program site: Woodbridge Public Charter Elementary School (Northeast
D.C.); Chamberlain Public Charter Elementary School (Northeast, D.C.); and
Ferebee Public Elementary School (Southeast D.C.).
Walk Across America(TM) 2007 (WAA) is a national innovative program,
presented by Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc. (FBR), which encourages
daily physical activity. In the campaign challenge, entire school
communities (students as well as administrative staff) join together with
the Joy of Sports Foundation and other dedicated corporate supporters to
record every single step each person takes over the course of 10
consecutive days. Joy of Sports Foundation, through corporate support by
FBR, provides each student, teacher and school administrator with his/her
own pedometer to be worn throughout the campaign. Each day the total amount
of steps are recorded and calculated by the Joy of Sports Foundation to
give an approximate amount of aggregate steps by the entire group. This is
then translated onto a map of the United States to show just how "far" the
participants have traveled each day collectively. Progress is marked on the
US map with the goal of completing a "lap" across America - Washington,
D.C. to the Joy of Sports Regional office in San Diego, CA ... and then
back to Washington, D.C.
"Our goal is 17 million steps," challenged Joy of Sports Foundation DC
Regional Director Amy Brady. "As students reach certain milestones [new
states along the journey, famous landmarks, etc.], school lessons will
reflect reached objectives, providing a wonderful platform to bring
learning into physical activity. This is one of the most essential aspects
of the Joy of Sports Foundation. Our belief that sports and physical
activity are a 'learning laboratory' for life skills, nutritional literacy
and overall education."
"Walk Across America is a physical fitness special event designed to
introduce the school community to the benefits of walking for weight
management and the use of a pedometer as a fitness self-assessment tool,"
said Jonathan Wright, Executive Director of Joy of Sports Foundation. "We
are so proud of the successes made by the students at Woodridge and
Chamberlain. Our philosophy is 'Seeing the Star in Every Child' and this
challenge allows our students the ability to see just how far their healthy
choices can take them."
Joy of Sports Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization based in
Washington, D.C., boasts an impressive 17 year track record for using
sports and play to "shine the star" in more than 30,000 youth. The mission
of the foundation is to inspire at-risk children to grow healthy in body,
mind, and spirit by teaching them critical life success skills through
sports, nutrition and education. Utilizing a variety of non-sport specific
(yoga, parachutes, games) and sport-based (soccer, tennis, basketball)
educational programs, JSF currently serves children through strong
community partnerships in the San Diego, Washington, D.C., and San
Francisco metropolitan areas. Our mission is to inspire underserved
children to grow healthy in body, mind and spirit by teaching critical life
success skills through sports and education.
Uniquely incorporating life-long success skills such as: Concentration,
Cooperation, Imagination, Relation, and Sportsmanship, Joy of Sports
Foundation programs have been recognized as model programs by the
President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, the US Department of
Health and Human Services Head Start Bureau, the Boys and Girls Clubs of
America, and the United States Tennis Association. The White House has also
recognized JSF as a Point of Light in appreciation of service to at-risk
children.
Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc. (NYSE: FBR) provides investment
banking*, merger and acquisition advisory services*, institutional
brokerage*, asset management and private wealth services through majority
ownership of FBR Capital Markets Corporation (FBR Capital Markets). FBR
Capital Markets focuses capital and financial expertise on eight industry
sectors: consumer, diversified industrials, energy & natural resources,
financial institutions, healthcare, insurance, real estate, and technology,
media & telecom. For the benefit of its shareholders, FBR Group also
invests in mortgage-related assets and merchant banking opportunities. FBR
is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area with offices in
Arlington, VA, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Irvine, London, New York, Phoenix
and San Francisco. Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc. is the parent
company of First NLC Financial Services, Inc., a non-conforming residential
mortgage originator headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Florida. For more
information, please visit http://www.fbr.com.
* Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., Inc.
For more information on the Joy of Sports Foundation, or to arrange an
interview with Executive Director Jonathan Wright, please contact Douglas
Knight at 202-548-0187 or via email at doug@joyofsports.org. For more
information on Walk Across America(TM) 2007, please visit the Joy of Sports
Foundation online at: http://www.joyofsports.org.