The challenge with any exercise program is making it fun, especially for kids. Bobby Roddini is the owner of Long Island’s Bounce Boot Camp franchise, a program that combines inflatable obstacle courses, castles and slides to engage students in physical activity and provide them with stress relief. Now, Roddini is looking to bring his program into schools as a unique field trip for students.
“I’m a mobile company so I can bring on-campus field trips to partnered schools,” said Roddini of Bounce Boot Camp. “I set up in the gym for the day and I stay until the last bell rings so that every class that has gym that day, comes through and gets to participate in the program for those 45 minutes.”
Roddini, who loves sports and coaching, came up with the idea for Fitness for a Foundation in October. While the concept is new, the goal is something that all schools will be able to get on board with. Fitness for a Foundation is an initiative that is partly sponsored by the PTA or school board that engages youths of all ages with fitness while collecting money for nonprofit foundations.
“For example, if there are 100 kids in the school, and its $5 per student for the field trip, that totals $500. Out of that $500, I take what I need to run my business and any additional proceeds go towards a foundation of the school’s choice,” said Roddini of the program. “It’s not just a gym class, it goes back to the school and it’s, in my opinion, a win-win. There are so many school districts on Long Island and that’s not the case everywhere else in the country so I think the area could benefit greatly.”
In the past, Roddini has sponsored Levittown’s General Douglas MacArthur High School’s Lax for Autism event, donating all of his proceeds back to the program. Roddini says he hopes that by giving back to programs that support a variety of causes that kids will realize it’s not all about them.
“I recently finished my first eight-week program at a school in Locust Valley. A parent came up to me—her son wasn’t big into sports—and every week he asked his mom if it was Tuesday because that’s when I came with the program,” said Roddini, noting that kids earn different dog tags while participating in the program, a small but fun initiative to get them excited about exercise. “Everyone gets a Bounce Boot Camp dog tag at the beginning, then after the eight weeks, they receive another dog tag and can pick their own color.”
Roddini hopes that both Bounce Boot Camp and his Fitness for a Foundation program will help bring to light the brutal issue of childhood obesity and the importance to learn healthy eating habits and exercise regularly.
“Any kid can do this and do it well and the great thing is, there is no competition. Kids aren’t racing against each other and no one feels left out,” said Roddini. “You’re running through an obstacle course and when you get to the end, you succeed.”
For more information about the Fitness for a Foundation program, call Bobby Roddini at 516-902-6192, or email bobby@bouncebootcampny.com.
