The Overtown Optimist Club, Up2Us Sports, & Kicks4Kidz Present Partners in Progress at Theodore Gibson Park

Photography by Ryan Troy on October 24th, 2020 in Lifestyle

Miami, FL – October 24, 2020 – In this edition of Partners in Progress, we will begin with the two givers – Up2Us Sports is a nationwide leader in engaging, training and supporting sports coaches to serve as mentors and role models to youth living in some of America’s most underserved communities. Through its myriad connections, Up2Us was approached by a local student-run charity – Kickz4KidzMiami, seeking to find a community to share their acquisition of more than 300 pairs of tennis shoes with.

“Altruism is a state of mind, it’s a motivation and intention to wish good for a person or a group of persons – and these three friends embody this tenet.”

Kickz4KidzMiami includes three members – Raj Khemlani, Senior at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School; Brooke Merdjane, Senior at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy; and Alex Perez, Senior at Christopher Columbus High School. The three students remained friends from their formative education at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish School from Pre-kindergarten – 8th grade. Their friendship continued, where they decided to engage in community service and founded the organization Kidz4KickzMiami. Each student has had success in sports and played from elementary through high school. Because of their positive experience with sports, they wanted to encourage other students to engage in sports and to lead a healthy lifestyle.

A little about the receivers – The Optimist Club of Overtown positions youth to be leaders through its hallmark programming in education, mentorship and sports. The Optimist Club services youth between the ages of 5 – 18, and beyond. The uniqueness of the day included a partnership with The Overtown Optimist Club, Up2Us Sports, and Kicks4Kidz Miami gifting more than 300 pairs of tennis shoes to the students. Additionally, the senior class prepared 140 meals for the homeless citizens within the community.