Upower

Upower is a small non-profit who provides trauma-informed fitness classes throughout King County. Our goal is to work toward evening the playing field for youth who don't have access to organized sports/fitness opportunities and the significant health and emotional benefits that come with them. We also want to be part of a solution in lowering the incidence of obesity, diabetes, and heart-related diseases that disproportionately affect teens of low economic status.

In the the four-and-half years since Upower's founding, we have partnered with public high schools, the King County Juvenile Detention Center, teen life centers, and fitness organizations, primarily in South King County, to provide fitness classes and wellness education for teens where there is little, IF ANY, access to physical activity or PE for students. We have also collaborated with a number of community-based organizations that engage in similar work for underserved youth (https://www.u-power.org/partners/). Upower currently offers weekly fitness, health, and wellness classes at six Interagency Academy (IA) campuses located across Seattle(Columbia City, White Center, University District, Delridge Corridor, Central District, and Queen Anne). IA is often referred to as a "last-chance high school" for Seattle-area teens who face significant life challenges such as poverty, addiction, homelessness, adverse family circumstances, pregnancy, or juvenile correction. Each of IA's campuses is specialized to the teen population it serves (http://interagency.seattleschools.org/). We also provide 23 trauma-informed fitness classes per week at the King County Juvenile Detention Center (located at 12th and Alder in the Central District), and offer four classes weekly at CHOICE Academy in Burien (Highline School District). Upower was featured in a King County blog about our work inside King County Juvenile Detention Center: https://zeroyouthdetention.com/2018/07/26/trauma-informed-fitness-leads-to-skill-building-for-youth/