Chicago, IL – A Chicago organization is turning empty lots into fitness gardens for underserved communities!
On the West Side of Chicago, a group of community organizations provide children’s exercise equipment and healthy fresh foods to children in community gymnasiums.
Pull Up the City is a nonprofit that started this year beautifying empty lots on Chicago’s West Side and turning them into fitness and vegetable gardens.
“We’re turning vacant lots into jackpots, that’s what I want to say. In essence, this means turning empty lots into community fitness gardens and wellness sanctuaries,” said Marcelino Riley, founder of Pull Up the City.
The organization is a branch of Go Infinite Training, an indoor fitness center for children on the West Side. Riley said they target communities that don’t have access to gyms, fitness classes, and healthy fresh food.
The organization also offers a range of courses. Riley, a four-time American ninja warrior competitor, has taught calisthenics skills to teens. He said he wanted to show others in his community that anything is possible.
“If we give our youth something to do, opportunities to eat healthy, we can change the trajectory of the West Side of Chicago,” said Justina Davila Winfrey of Pull Up the City.
So far, the organization has completed the beautification of an empty lot in the East Garfield Park community on the West Side. You are in the process of beautifying three more vacant lots.
