Gasol Foundation Joins Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ Walk & Play LA in Santa Monica

Gasol Foundation is a proud partner in Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ Walk & Play LA held on Saturday May 20th. The 7th annual event is a family-friendly community event on the Santa Monica Pier that celebrates and supports the health of children. Walk & Play LA brings together the sports and wellness community for a 3K fun walk, family festival for all ages, and sports clinics hosted by professional athletes, including adaptive sports activities. Co-hosted by boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard and host of the Ellen K Morning Show on KOST 103.5, Ellen K, Walk & Play LA was complete with live music, special guests, food, family fun under the sun and an exciting All-Star line-up in the Play Zone!

Children and parents who visited our Gasol Foundation booth enjoyed healthy games, prizes, and raffle collectibles. Thank you CHLA for the incredible opportunity to participate in such a fantastic event.

There’s still time to give to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles! Help raise critical funds in support of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and its mission to create hope and build healthier futures.

It was another great weekend at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books for Gasol Foundation USA! As expected, the nation’s largest literary event had a big turnout on both Saturday, April 22nd – Sunday, April 23rd. We were thrilled to participate at the Festival of Books for the second consecutive year and have the opportunity to engage with the community. It was a (healthy) party in booth #553 as both kids and many adults enjoyed doing exercises as we promoted healthy habits. We provided healthy games, prizes and raffle collectibles on the University of Southern California campus where the festival took place.

Thank you to AltaMed pediatrician and Gasol Foundation USA Advisory Board member, Dr. Iian Shapiro, for visiting our booth! And congratulations to our raffle winners, Aditya and Benjamin, who each won an autographed item from our President, Pau Gasol!

Overall, kids of ages and families enjoyed these free family-friendly days on the main USC campus. Thank you Los Angeles Times and USC for hosting such a fantastic event. We look forward to participating next year and impacting even more families through heathy habits! 

March 6th, 2023 is a day The Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) school children will always remember! Gasol Foundation President and NBA legend Pau Gasol visited Lafayette Recreation Center in Los Angeles, CA to provide a Galactic Sports clinic with children and a Q&A session with the press. This special event was held the day before Pau’s historic Lakers jersey retirement ceremony at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles. 

The impact of Pau’s visit was imminent as the 7’1’’ former power forward / center entered the gym. Many of the children in attendance grew up watching him play for the Lakers and were thrilled to meet him in person. As with all Gasol Foundation evidence-based programs, the Galactic Sports demo incorporated the key healthy habits of physical activity, diet, sleep, and emotional well-being.

LOS ANGELES, CA- MARCH 6: Gasol Foundation Galactic Sports Program at Lafayette Park Recreation Center in Los Anegeles NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

The demonstration also provided an opportunity for the children to ask Pau questions and engage with him. The children gained knowledge on healthy habits applicable to their daily lives, which made the experience even more valuable.

Additionally, Pau shared personal anecdotes regarding his personal journey, discussed adversity he’s faced to get where he is today, and the hard work he put in to achieve his goals- both on and off the court. He emphasized the importance of perseverance, resilience, and a positive attitude with the children – all crucial skills for success. 

We are honored to share this moment with The Heart of Los Angeles, Rise Kohyang Elementary School, and Bright Stars Schools as we celebrate our co-founder, Pau Gasol. Thank you to all who made this event possible! 

Gasol Foundation USA is celebrating the Los Angeles Lakers’ retirement of number 16 to honor Lakers legend and Gasol Foundation USA Co-Founder, Pau Gasol, on March 7, 2023. As part of the celebration, Gasol Foundation USA is hosting a drawing for two game tickets and a meet-and-greet with Pau Gasol. One lucky winner will receive two tickets to Laker game/ceremony

and a meet-and-greet with Laker great Pau Gasol.

The retirement of Pau Gasol’s jersey by the Los Angeles Lakers will take place as the Lakers face the Memphis Grizzlies (Gasol’s first NBA team) at Crypto.com Arena.

The prize drawing for the two game tickets and meet-and-greet with Pau has begun, with entries at $25 each (multiple entries are allowed). The deadline to enter is noon PST on March 1, 2023, and the winner will be drawn at 4pm PST on March 1st. 

Pau played for the Lakers during seven seasons with three All Star selections–and helped lead Los Angeles to back-to-back championships. He is “humbled and excited” about this great recognition by such a great franchise. He is delighted to share this moment with his family and friends, and supporters of the Gasol Foundation. 

Gasol Foundation USA’s Galactic Sports winter programming, in collaboration with Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation, will begin in January 2023 at the following locations: El Cariso Community Regional Park (Sylmar, CA), Del Aire Park (Hawthorne, CA), Pamela Park (Duarte, CA), Amelia Mayberry Park (Whittier, CA), Ruben F Salazar Park (East Los Angeles, CA), and Lennox Park (Lennox, CA). Register today – and we’ll see you there! 

Galactic Sports is a community-based program promoting sports and healthy habits. The goal of the program is to reduce risk of childhood obesity among children by engaging them in sports and promoting these healthy habits: diet, physical activity, sleep, and emotional well-being. Galactic Sports is for children ages 6-13. The activities are designed for beginners to gain confidence in the sport.

On Thursday, October 27th, Gasol Foundation USA hosted our first in-person event since 2016! ‘A Night with the Gasol Foundation’ took place at Tatel Restaurant in Beverly Hills. The patio at Tatel provided a collegial setting to showcase our work and mingle with current and new collaborators. We were excited to see friends, partners, and donors who showed their support for our #ZeroChildhoodObesity mission. This friend and fundraiser built momentum for us to continue empowering children to develop healthy habits. We are thrilled to report a generous $50,000 contribution from the Los Angeles Lakers was made at the event. As always, all funds go directly toward our free children’s wellness programs.

 

On Thursday, September 15th, Gasol Foundation celebrated our new partnership with the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation with a kick-off event held at Ruben F. Salazar Park. We are officially up and running for the Fall and currently providing our Galactic Sports programming at five Los Angeles County Regional parks (Ruben F. Salazar Park in East Los Angeles, El Cariso Community Regional Park in Sylmar, Pamela Park in Duarte, Sorensen Park in Whittier, and Lennox Park in Lennox) and the Los Angels Boys and Girls Club in Lincoln Heights.

We would like to thank Supervisor Hilda Solis and Director of the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation, Norma Garcia, for recognizing our work to reduce the risk of childhood obesity through sports and healthy habits. 

In November 2021, the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors adopted a motion to proclaim November Los Angeles County Diabetes Awareness Month. The main objective was to create a means of educating youth and their families about ways to prevent or manage type 2 diabetes, which currently effects 90-95% of all people with diabetes. As a result of this motion, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health was asked to partner with the Los Angeles County Office of Education, K-12 school districts, and community-based organizations to improve access to healthy meals at schools. This included efforts to reduce food waste and provide culturally relevant resources about diabetes awareness and prevention.

 

With input from the Los Angeles County Office of Education and other stakeholders, Public Health developed a Diabetes and Prediabetes Awareness Toolkit, which will support existing education codes that require schools to provide type 2 diabetes information to students. Gasol Foundation is proud to be included in this initiative- our feature can be found on page 8 of this toolkit. This Diabetes and Prediabetes Awareness Toolkit will be shared with various schools across the county, thus allowing us to empower even more children through healthy habit promotion.

Components of the toolkit include a description of type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, low and no-cost resources for schools, including nutrition education and physical activity curricula, resources to create a healthy school environment, implementation guides on reducing food waste by establishing share tables, and resources for schools to improve worksite wellness among teachers and staff. The toolkit also includes sample announcements for parents and students.

To view the the Diabetes and Prediabetes Awareness Toolkit click here

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