At Smoothie King, we want to help all our guests find their purpose, identify why they’re coming to Smoothie King and enable them to live healthy and active lifestyles.
Our partnership with the Challenged Athletes Foundation helps us do just that.
What is the Challenged Athletes Foundation?
The Challenged Athletes Foundation was founded more than 25 years ago by athlete and amputee Jim MacLaren. His mission was to allow physically disabled individuals to participate in an active life.
The work the Challenged Athletes Foundation does is significant. Fifty percent of adults with disabilities get no aerobic physical activity, and obesity rates for children with disabilities are 38 percent higher than for children without disabilities. In a larger sense, the employment rate for people in wheelchairs is 18 percent compared to the national average of 95.4 percent. The Challenged Athletes Foundation works hard to combat these statistics.
Through a number of camps, clinics, military veteran programs and grants, the Challenged Athletes Foundation provides people with disabilities a chance to turn their setbacks into comebacks.
Inside Our Partnership with the Challenged Athletes Foundation
As an official partner of the Challenged Athletes Foundation, Smoothie King helps athletes with disabilities conquer more than their physical challenges – we help them to live a well-rounded, healthy life in and out of the gym.
Haven Shepherd, a Paralympic swimmer and member of the Challenged Athletes Foundation, sees the partnership as a blessing for athletes like her who want to embody wellness in every aspect of life.
Our donations to the Challenged Athletes Foundation help the organization provide sports equipment, resources and mentorship for athletes such as Haven. The cost of adaptive sports equipment is often a hurdle too large for many challenged athletes, which unfairly hinders them from having the active lifestyle they desire.
In addition to our donations, Smoothie King products allow all of our guests, regardless of the challenges they may face, to Rule the Day©. Our versatile menu allows for some nuanced customization to craft a perfect smoothie for each and every one of our guests. Whether an athlete like Haven is looking to lose weight, gain weight, build muscle or simply fuel her body with a nutritious meal alternative after workouts, he or she can find the solution in Smoothie King.
While we partner with CAF through various initiatives, we also encourage direct donations to the Challenged Athletes Foundation in-store and online, which helps provide countless opportunities for members of the organization. Donations of any amount help move athletes closer to their goals.
For example, giving $50 provides a one-month membership to a skateboard park for a member of the Challenged Athletes Foundation. A $100 donation allows a wheelchair-bound athlete to enter a marathon. Once $15,000 is raised, the organization can afford a new running foot for a physically disabled child.
In dealing with her disability, Angel Giuffria, an actress, archer, cyclist and member of the Challenged Athletes Foundation, has noticed how large a difference small actions can make from her time with the organization. When it comes to supporting an organization such as the Challenged Athletes Foundation, the same principle applies.
At Smoothie King, we do our small part to help promote healthy and active lifestyles in all of our guests, and you can too.
