NeverStopMoving365 CEO Christina Collins is Transforming the Nation’s Approach to Youth Activity

New York Wire Staff

From lobbying state mandates on physical activity in schools, leading fun and healthy activities for kids in the comfort of their homes to propelling a budding business that enables fellow P.E. teachers to supplement their income, Christina Collins is a changemaker impacting the lives of youth and teachers nationwide.

WESTCHESTER, NY – “Sitting is the new smoking” according to Dr. James Levine, professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic. Movement is simply essential for survival, and physical education (P.E.) teacher, former athlete, mother, and entrepreneur Christina Collins is effectively creating a ripple of change nationwide through her state lobbying efforts and launch of her business NeverStopMoving365 (NSM365) that offers skill development for youth, outside of the classroom, as well as franchise opportunities for fellow teachers in need of additional income.

Offering skill development for groups of children and individual coaching in all areas, from fitness and sports training to small groups, one-on-one, and even personalized events, the passion-based small business has been positively impacting a growing number of children and teens since 2017. After six years of growth, Collins realized NSM365 has an even greater purpose: enabling other passionate teachers an opportunity to use her business framework to further the important mission, while creating an additional income without the daunting task of a business start-up.

Collins uncovered her dedication for fitness and coaching in eighth grade. Her former P.E. teacher Mark Finegan from Pelham Memorial High School, made her realize there was much more takeaway than what happens on a field as a varsity athlete.

“Through that fitness and sport training he taught me so many tools I still use today––grit, confidence, communication and leadership skills, to take risks, try new things, reflect, pick myself, and to never stop improving.” – Collins

National Epidemic of Obesity

“No education system is effective unless it promotes the health and well-being of its students, staff, and community.” – World Health Organization, 2004

Lifestyles have dramatically changed to become more sedentary than ever before since the digital boom and consistent reliance on devices in and out of school. Instead of daily physical activity, kids are spending their leisurely hours zoned in on television, video games, and mobile phones, all of which was amplified during the pandemic. According to recent data, kids are unhealthy and childhood obesity has become a fundamental problem nationwide.

“The prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States has more than tripled over the last four decades from 5% in 1978 to 18.5% in 2016, and is on the rise.” – Sanyaolu et al., 2019

Worst of all, while schools encourage a wellness policy, they are also cutting recess to a mere 20 minutes, including the time to line up, or as an optional quick break during lunchtime. This is more than a fundamental issue, it’s a national epidemic of obesity that affects about 14.7 million children and adolescents (Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, & Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2022).

Policymakers are looking to schools as the most strategic and practical place for students to learn about and practice being physically active.

Wellness Policy

Despite mandates for a wellness policy, New York State does not require schools to provide daily recess nor a minimum weekly amount of physical activity time for students. Additionally, classroom physical activity breaks are currently not required in the state (Society of Health & Physical Educators, 2016). Less than one-third of children and adolescents in the U.S. meet the recommended 60–minutes of physical activity each day (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention et al., 2018). The relationship between obesity rates and academic performance deserves attention because obesity rates have been steadily increasing over the last few decades, and obesity could negatively influence academic outcomes (Asirvatham et al., 2019).

Collins continues her plight to make a difference on a larger scale and explains, “I am lobbying in Albany and campaigning to have the governor expand the current P.E. mandate ‘Commission Regulation 135.4’ to include a classroom movement mandate. Ideally, this would include 10 minutes per day to an hour per week more of physical activity that schools will be required to provide movement opportunities.”

Mental & Physical Toolkit

In addition to sport-specific training, swimming lessons, bike-riding skills, health-related components of fitness (i.e., muscular strength, endurance, cardio, flexibility, etc.), NSM365 simultaneously builds confidence in children, from ages 3 to13, through movement, sport and exercise. Students, known as 365ers, gain much more than physical ability, they also benefit from the intangible “mental toolkit” that will serve them for a lifetime. Since launching over five years ago, NSM365 has thousands of clients including children from ages 3-16.

“Grit. Perseverance. Hard Work. Confidence. Self-Control. Limitless Potential. Importance of Mistakes. Learning from Failure. Breathwork. Meditation.”

Best of all, NSM365 is implementation-ready to empower P.E. teachers, nationwide, with passion for health and wellness to start a business in their own communities.

Jumping for a Cause

This Valentine’s Day, Collins and her P.E. students will be launching a nine-week “Heart and Hoops” jump rope fundraising campaign for the American Heart Association.

“I am honored and humbled to have been nominated for my work with NeverStopMoving365 and building healthy hearts and healthy behaviors in our youth as a ‘Woman of Impact’ this year.” – Collins

In fact, Collins will be presenting at the SHAPE America National Convention & Expo (March 12-16 in Cleveland, OH) to more than 200k P.E. teachers. As an ultra-endurance athlete who has completed a 50K, 50-mile run, half iron, and plans to train and complete an ironwoman 140.6 and a 100-mile run as well, there’s clearly no slowing her down. Collins’ personal mantra is as powerful as her will to make a positive change:

“I will not stop until I empower enough teachers to make P.E. available outside of school and get 1 million children active.”