NEW YORK (PIX11) — What used to be a dilapidated storage room is now a state-of-the-art fitness center, thanks to three Brooklyn principals and more than 1,000 students coming together to make it happen.
Caitlyn Hendrickson, 18, is a senior at Mesa Charter High School in Bushwick. She’s a star volleyball player and the captain of their championship volleyball team. Hendrickson said she now has a safe and beautiful place to work out.
Hendrickson is one of hundreds of students now using a new fitness center at her high school that opened in February. She said it was badly needed in her neighborhood. It was not an easy lift to make this facility happen.
Wayne Seymore said it was a labor of love. Known as coach Seymore, he spent months coordinating and leading the effort to implement half a million dollars in funding from the city. He did it, he said, so his students would have a place to go to work out and feel good about themselves and their community.
The co-executive of Mesa Charter School, Director Arthur Samuels, said it’s hard to believe just last year this exercise center looked like a storage room for broken and unusable equipment.
These teens also learned something important about having a vision, using teamwork, and taking action. They are also raising funds to support a new career center.
If you’re interested in donating you can here.
