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Looking For Ways To Support Your Community? Get Inspired With These 4 Empowering Stories
The decision to make wellness a priority is something we can only do on our own. But after that (as any spin class or dinner party will prove), health and fitness are best when shared. Community has a way of making our personal goals and journeys more fun but also more effective. As the famous Helen Keller quote goes, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
It's easy to get stuck in the tunnel vision of our next goal or milestone, but tapping into the power of community is the ticket to true transformation. And nothing proves that like nutritional brand Quest's mission to champion inspirational individuals who are on a personal quest to make an impact in their local communities. Quest recently awarded grants to four lucky recipients who are making a difference in their local communities. These four individuals and their organizations serve as a much-needed reminder for all of us to get engaged with our local communities… There's so much we can do to make a difference in the world just beyond our doorstep, and we're about to prove it to you.
Ready to make a difference? Consider these four stories your inspiration.
These days, nothing hits like stories and headlines of people doing good in the world. And with the four recipients of the Quest grant, there's no shortage of good feels. Each supported by a $20,000 grant from Quest to further their personal quests and make a positive impact in their community, these changemakers demonstrate that our personal passions are often our avenue of greatest impact in the world. We all want to make the world a better place, but it can be tricky to know where to begin. Consider these inspiring stories your starting point!
Meet Giselle Carrillo: As the first recipient of the Quest grant, Giselle is the founder of Los Courage Camps and El Barrio Athletic Club, bringing surf and wellness to underserved communities. Through both their mission and delicious, athlete-worthy nutrition, Quest is all about supporting personal and community growth. For Giselle, sometimes that looks like sponsoring surf lessons or making fitness more widely available to her community. Other times, it looks like snacking on her favorite Quest Nacho Cheese Protein Chips, made with 18 grams of protein and full-on flavor!
Meet Paulana Lamonier: As a game changer in the Greater New York Area, Paulana works with her organization, Black People Will Swim, to smash the stereotype that Black people don't swim. With the Quest grant, she is pursuing nonprofit organization status while certifying new team members to become American Red Cross–certified swim instructors.
Meet Arelious Cooper: Arelious is the executive director of Art in the Paint, an organization dedicated to creating community centers without walls. Based in Atlanta, Art in the Paint renovates public outdoor basketball courts and installs murals to strengthen communities, promote safety, inspire creativity, and encourage play. Arelious is using the Quest grant to fund more court paintings and organize a summer basketball league.
Meet Brandon Johnson: Through his organization Create Now, Brandon is working to empower at-risk and high-risk youth and young adults, ages 3 to 24, through healing and supportive arts programs. Brandon is using his Quest grant to teach youth about nutrition, create new events and programming covering areas like music and fashion, and take the local youth on fun, engaging field trips.
Your turn: How to get involved in your community.
Whether it's sponsoring swimming or surf lessons, turning the local basketball court into an art display, or teaching kids culinary classes and the arts, the recipients of the Quest grant prove that positive community impact is possible when we work together to empower one another. On the one hand, making a difference might look like launching a brand new organization that serves the needs of your local community. On the other, it could be as simple as extending your unique skills and talents to benefit others. No matter how big of a step you're ready to take, here are 10 ways to get inspired and engaged with your local community!
- Donate to a local community organization that your personal values align with.
- Arrange a local art project—volunteer for a school, senior center, or simply gather your neighbors!
- Start a community garden in your neighborhood.
- Use your social media platforms to share and support local businesses.
- Create a new organization surrounding the well-being of an underserved community.
- Arrange a community cleanup at a local spot, like a park or school grounds.
- Plant flowers in community areas that need a little love.
- Set up a book swap box outside of your local public library.
- Start a book club for your neighborhood or another local group.
- Coach a youth sports team.
Be the change.
Showing up for our community belongs right in our wellness routine—studies1 have shown that charity and other altruistic acts are associated with health benefits. But it can also be simple (just like making the Quest Protein Bar Minis your snack of choice), and no step is too big or small. It's easy to get lost in the spirals of headlines and doom scrolling, but the reality is there's so much good in the world. But don't rely on us to point it out; get out there and create it yourself!
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