Not surprisingly, there is no greater feeling than giving back. Volunteer groups and nonprofits work tirelessly to make our communities stronger, but they can’t do it alone. So when we were invited to help organize the 2014 B’N Fit Annual Teen & Community Walk, we didn’t hesitate to accept!

With our help, R&B singer Elle Varner joined the PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT (PGS) team to lead 200 teens and Bronx community members in a 2-mile walk on the breathtaking grounds of The New York Botanical Garden on Saturday, May 17th, 2014. The RCA recording artist, who admitted to struggling with her weight as a teen, completed the walk with the enthusiastic group, provided words of encouragement, and surprised everyone with an impromptu performance of her inspirational song “So Fly”.

Elle closed the event by presenting a gift basket filled with PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT apparel, beauty products, inspirational books, and Beats by Dre headphones to one adorable winner.

Teen obesity and limited access to health education and fitness outlets are some of the biggest issues facing Bronx youth. The B’N Fit Annual Teen and Community Walk is presented by B’N Fit, a program of Mosholu Montefiore Community Center Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, and serves as the culmination of the year-long program.

MMCC provides the physical and nutritional education portions of the program. CHAM provides clinical, medical and curriculum support. Eligible participants are adolescents between the age of 12 and 21 who have a body mass index (BMI) greater than the 95th percentile for age and sex. B’N Fit serves 100-125 overweight adolescents per year. In addition to direct program participants, 100 to 200 family members are concurrently offered programming to support healthy lifestyle behaviors for the entire family.

Special thanks to our generous sponsors, Jason Hobdy (MBK Entertainment), teen fitness model The Cleopatra Lee, PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT volunteers (Ajani Braitwaite, Selena Covington, and Antoinique Abraham), and the outstanding MMCC team including Arline Rubel, Laurie Bandremer, Rita Santelia, Rachel Tainey, Jessica Reider, and Sherice Brammer.

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To support our mission to encourage teen girls to make their health a priority and to fund free fitness events for teens, purchase apparel in our online shop (HERE), make a donation at sweatmakescents.org, or email us at hi@prettygirlssweat.com to partner with us, become a mentor, or volunteer.