Albert K. Park

     
"The Value of a Man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving."
 - Albert Einstein




"If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one." - Mother Teresa 


                     When the grey rain clouds break and the Sun makes a pleasant cameo in the city of Renton, you can often find me going for a run through the downtown streets. I love getting the opportunity to be close to the community I am directly involved with and there is no better way than taking it to the streets.  About a month ago on one of these stress relieving runs, I came across an unforgettable sight that has been burned into my memory.

                      The homeless shelter in our city is split between two locations that take turns hosting the responsibilities. Transitioning locations requires all the individuals who depend on the shelter to move as well. That sunny afternoon, in mid stride, I saw a young boy no older than 10 years carrying everything he had. His small black backpack was overstuffed to a point where the zipper couldn't close. A small, dirty green sleeping bag was squeezed tight under his left arm and a large duffle bag leaned his small body over to his left. The other hand grasped the even smaller hand of his little sister, as they walked down the street. The sight drew me to a dead stop. My heart was broken.


                    In the midst of a shattered economy, I have fallen into the same selfish "What about me" mentality that a lot of businesses and individuals have come to live by. We get blinded so easily by our own needs we forget that there are other people out there. People who may need more help then ourselves. That day "What about me" turned into "What about them". 

                   The past month at Hocevar Performance, life has been much bigger than just training. Our main goal of helping individuals reach fitness goals has shared the spotlight with helping "our" community. We have always strived to be a business that gives back but there has never been a cry for help as loud as now.

                   A chance meeting with a like minded individual at another local business offered the perfect opportunity to start immediately. Her small request of "Would you like to donate some food for our local food drive?" couldn't have come at a better time.

"I will do something even better," I told her with a smirk on my face. 

                  That Saturday we hosted a charity bootcamp at our gym and invited all our members to attend. Admittance was a minimum of 3 non perishable food items. It was an opportunity to get a great workout for an even greater cause and the attendance was overwhelming. The food never stopped piling up in the corner. We immediately jumped on the momentum and devoted Saturday mornings to Charity Bootcamps. Why stop with one weekend when we could help every weekend.


                   Her expression said it all as I waddled in balancing over 15 bags of donated food and I'm not talking about the leftover cans of gross stuff you avoid all year. I'm talking about the good sh*t. I think at that moment, we both knew we were on to something. She broke her silence and said "thank you!" but really I should thank her. Thank you for not thinking about yourself when everyone else is.



                Each Saturday has been an effort to lend out a much needed helping hand. Whether it is breast cancer, Make a wish, or even our local food drive the members of our team have gone above and beyond. This article is not written to make you feel guilty by any means but to open your eyes. To motivate you to give a little in a world of a lot of taking. I know if we start small and locally we will soon see the rain clouds break over us all.

Check out what a Charity Bootcamp looks like: Hocevar Performance Charity Bootcamp

     If you want to come participate at one of our Charity Bootcamps, they are held every Saturday at 9 am. Check my Facebook Fan Page or email me for the charity and admittance details.

Hocevar Performance
101 Burnett Ave
Renton, WA 98057