For the third time this year, the Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation hosted a Redskins FITT special event for local students.
The Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation on Monday hosted the third Redskins FITT [Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type] special event Tuesday at Jefferson Middle School in Southwest, Washington, D.C.
The Charitable Foundation partnered with the American Diabetes Association and GO-Adventures to host a Redskins FITT Teambuilding Seminar, which was attended by 100 middle school students.
Redskins wide receiver Ryan Grant and guard Arie Kouandjio took time to join the students and spend the afternoon participating in the activities.
With the help of GO-Adventures facilitators, Grant and Kouandjio led the students through a series of teambuilding and cognitive development exercises – all of which focused on the topics of trust, communication, cooperation and fun. Grant, Kouandjio and the students rotated to several stations around the campus, giving them ample opportunities to work on their skills.
Kouandjio had a great time interacting with the young men and women and imparting some timely knowledge on them as well.
"It's kind of crazy being here, and seeing them and how they react to something simple as balls bouncing around," Kouandjio said. "It's really fun to be able to observe this and think, 'you know when I was a kid can I keep up a bouncy ball from falling on the ground?' I think I can, but you know it's just crazy being able to see how they do it."
"Learning can be really fun," Kouandjio added. "They have no idea that the kind of things they're learning, and leadership they're being able to pick up and don't even really understand that they're picking these things up."
In watching the students rotate from station to station, it was apparent that they were having a lot of fun, and were learning new communication and leadership skills along the way.
As a part of the Redskins FITT program, students from Jefferson Middle School had the opportunity to participate in a physical activity and nutrition event on Tuesday, November 29, 2016.
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The ability for students to interact with one another through unique opportunities is exactly what the Redskins FITT program is all about, says Jane Rodgers, Executive Director of the Redskins Charitable Foundation.
"I think what we're able to see through these team building activities is an opportunity for young people to learn how to get along with their peers in ways they may never have thought and those are skills that can translate into life," Rodgers said. "They work in our everyday work environment, they work in school, they work on the playground and they work on the field. They're very translatable."
Rodgers' hope is that each and every young person who attended the seminar takes what he or she learned and applies it to their everyday life.
"It's so important, because as you become more comfortable with yourself, and the decisions that you're making, and leadership opportunities, and making decisions, and demonstrating positive behavior, those are all things that we need more of in this world for responsible adults," said Kathy Burk, Executive Director of the American Diabetes Association, National Capital Area Chapter. "The more that they're learning all of those skills now, the more these kids have the advantage when they get out of high school. Whether they go to college, or just get a job, it doesn't matter, because they have the skills that they need to be successful adults."