Prime Fit Youth Foundation

All. Of. This.

Connection changes everything.

“We spend so much time worrying about children coming to school lacking academic skills.
But many are coming to school lacking relational skills.
Some children struggle to communicate face to face.
To handle conflict.
To hear “no.”
To work through frustration.
To cooperate, wait their turn, read social cues, or build healthy relationships.
And we should not ignore what is contributing to it.

Many children today are spending more time interacting with screens than interacting with people.
Less conversation.
Less eye contact.
Less play.
Less unstructured interaction.
Less practice navigating real human relationships.
But human beings are relational by nature.

Children learn communication, empathy, emotional regulation, accountability, confidence, and social awareness through real interaction with other human beings, not through constant technology, isolated screen time, and reduced human interaction.

Because schools are not just places of academic learning.
They are human environments built on interaction, communication, relationships, accountability, emotional regulation, and respect for others.
A child can often catch up academically.
But when children struggle with basic relational skills, it impacts behavior, learning, confidence, friendships, classrooms, and eventually the ability to function successfully in life and the workplace.

This is also why recess and play matter so much.
They are not distractions from learning.
They are some of the primary ways children develop the relational and emotional foundations that learning depends on in the first place.
Because when relational development suffers, academic development eventually suffers too.”

Dr. Brad Johnson

Such a great time was had at field day with our Buckner Performing Arts Magnet Elementary School family!!

So proud of Dexster McGee and grateful for funding that supports this camp so there is no fee for families!!

Newstalk Summer Learning Retention Dexster McGee shares about the importance of learning retention especially during the summer and the Pals Summer Camp program for kids.

Go Dexster McGee

Join us!

Incoming K-3 students join us! Click the QR code to register!

Incoming K-3 students join us! Click the QR code to register!

Such a great time!

Teachers-we appreciate you and are so grateful for you!

Tonight was one of those nights that reminds me exactly why we do this work. ❤️

So much laughter. So many hugs. So many moments where I looked around and thought, this is what connection looks like.

A huge thank you to Derek and the team at The Arcade for sponsoring our Prime Fit Youth Foundation end-of-year family celebration. Your generosity created a space for our families, mentors, and staff to simply enjoy being together—and that matters more than people realize.

And to our team and your families… thank you. Thank you for every early morning, every difficult conversation, every student check-in, every family you walked alongside, every moment you stayed calm in chaos, every ounce of love you poured into kids this year.

This work is not always easy. Supporting youth and families through hard things takes heart, patience, consistency, and compassion. But tonight was a reminder that we are building something bigger than programs and services. We are building connection. We are building belonging. We are building family.

One of my favorite things about this team is that we end meetings with hugs and “I love yous.” And I never want to normalize how special that is. To work alongside people who genuinely care for each other and for the youth we serve is such a gift.

I’m incredibly grateful for this team.
Grateful for the impact. Grateful for the laughter tonight. And deeply grateful for every person who helps make Prime Fit Youth Foundation what it is. ❤️

What a fun time we had at Colvin today!!