The annual Chairman’s Challenge and the Sprint for Change was held this past Memorial Day at USC’s Cromwell Track & Field Stadium.
This event brought together successful people from various industries, including business, entertainment, athletics, and academics, to benefit the youth.
“The Chairmen’s Challenge and the Sprint for Change is a benefit for City Youth Exposure,” said Andre Farr, chairman and CEO of the Black Sports Agents Association. “City Youth Exposure is an organization where we take young kids who are from underserved areas, and introduce them to people, places and things that they normally don’t see. We’ve taken them to Lake Tahoe, [and] Sony. We’ll take them anywhere that gives them exposure to something that they do not get everyday. We believe that if they’re exposed to something, they’ll reach out to something different.”
City Youth Exposure’s trip to Sony’s Santa Monica Studio and Activision taught aspiring video game designers how incredible the gaming industry is, and exposed them to related careers. They learned from the professionals, and were able to create a concept for a new video game during a meeting that was facilitated by production and design team leaders.
City Youth Exposure also took a trip to Southern California Edison’s facility in Rosemead, where the group participated in a pubic speaking workshop.
While The Chairman’s Challenge raised funds for this organization, it also promoted a healthy lifestyle to the participants. The workout portion of the event was led by three Olympic sprinters. Joanna Hayes, who won a gold medal in the 2004 Athens Games; Steven Lewis, who won two gold medals in the 1988 Seoul Games and one in the 1992 Barcelona Games; and Quincy Watts, who won two gold medals in the 1992 Barcelona Games, led the group in a warmup and sprint drills.
The three Olympians were then accompanied by Layah Willis, executive director of City Youth Exposure, for a 4×100 relay run.
“The 4×100 relay, people ask us who they are running against,” Farr said. “We say that they aren’t running against anybody, but they are running for people. We’re running for change, we’re running for the community, we’re running for people. That 4×100 is a symbolic run for our program.”
