Everyone loves a good redemption story. Hollywood has been making movies around them for decades with our hero’s having to overcome either their own demons or injustice, sometimes both.
Many times our sports hero’s have fallen only to rise even higher like the phoenix from the ashes of their own demise to create a life that is capable of stopping people for if only a moment to say Wow, well done.
FresYes is home to this stories hero, Tony Hoffman who grew up in Sunnyside. Tony rose to become one of cities best BMX racers, then fell far and hard before finding Christ and his mission in life.
~His vision was to start an organization centered around action sports to reach out to youth to inspire them to beat the odds and bring opportunities to them that otherwise would not be possible.~
What started as a BMX project has gown by leaps and bounds into a life project. Mentoring, coaching, BMX, skateboarding all have a place in Tony’s heart and it shows.
Today scores of our young people are participating week in and week out earning and learning how to be leaders. The program teaches them to stay away from drugs, they are mentored, befriended and have all the support of the leader who is in my book the Pied Piper of FresYes youth.
I asked Tony for a personal quote about the project and what I got was so much more than what I expected.
“Kids thrive when they feel connected and have purpose. The Freewheel Project is unique in that we not only provide the action sports experience and enable them to continue doing it after graduation by awarding them their own equipment but we teach kids the importance of attitude and choice making that ultimately steer the direction their life takes.” ~Tony Hoffman~
Then again knowing Tony for the last five years I should have known he would take my request for a quote and hit a home run with it. I don’t think he knows any other way other than to go for it all the way even for a simple FresYes quote.
I urge you to follow the link below to his Freewheel website and check it out and even donate if you can because this man and his mission are worth our support and our admiration.
- Invitation to the Ball - November 6, 2015
- Sportsman’s Warehouse, the New Kid In Town - July 20, 2015
- The Freewheel Project - July 13, 2015
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