First founded in Indianapolis in 2006, Rock Steady Boxing is now an international nonprofit program with more than 840 certified affiliates, and now, with the support of the Foundation, ECU Health’s Wellness Center has added to that number.
Smith said it’s gratifying to know donors’ money has been put to such good use.
“It shows the impact of what our donors are doing for their friends and family in this region. It shows the tangible impact philanthropy is making on the lives of people in Eastern North Carolina.” Smith also had a personal connection to the program. His father had Parkinson’s disease. “He passed away just before the pandemic. He was in rehab but never got up and running again.”
Funds provided by donors covered the cost of coach training in Indianapolis and necessary equipment, allowing the ECU Health and Wellness Center to launch the Rock Steady Boxing program in 2023. Two of the coaches trained for the program were lead exercise specialist Chiara Robbins and exercise physiologist II Cass Costa. There are more than 36,000 people with Parkinson’s disease in North and South Carolina, and Costa emphasized the value of having the program in the region.
“At first, we didn’t realize how impactful this program would be, or how few places offered these classes.” And it’s true. ECU Health and Wellness Center is now one of three locations in eastern North Carolina offering the program. As a result, Robbins says the classes have grown quickly. “We started with three or four members and now we have 10 to 12. We have people coming from Rocky Mount, Kinston, Grimsland, Snow Hill and Aiden wanting to participate in the program. It’s been growing steadily and we’re seeing great results.”
These outcomes are measured through balance and gait tests such as the Berg Balance Test and the Get Up and Go Test. “The first four participants went from being at high risk for falls to being at moderate or low risk,” Robbins says. “Some of them were not even able to complete parts of the tests, but now they can.”
Justin Mendoza, one of the class participants and the youngest member, testified to the positive effects of the program: “They [the coaches] “They really take the exercises seriously. There are people here who have studied this and know what I’m going through. My strength has improved, my walking has improved and I’m falling less,” he said.
Like Mendoza, some clients found out about the Greenville classes when they were closed, while others were referred by physical therapists or doctors. Dr. Temitope Lawal, a movement disorder neurologist at ECU Health, is one of the doctors who has referred patients to the program.
