Small & Gutsy Features Active Plus, Opportunities for Inner City Youth to Succeed

In this episode, host Dr. Laura Scherck Wittcoff sits down with Tarik Kitson, Executive Director and co-founder of Active Plus NYC, to discuss how a chance volunteering opportunity in East Harlem evolved into a transformative nonprofit serving thousands of underserved youth across New York City. Active Plus provides free fitness, nutrition, mindfulness, and leadership programs to children and teens ages 5-18 who lack access to quality physical education and wellness resources. THE ORIGIN STORY Tarik, a former collegiate athlete with a background in health and fitness, started visiting a middle school in East Harlem on Saturday mornings to volunteer with students. What he discovered was shocking: children weren't getting recess, physical education classes had over 50 students, and there were no after-school sports programs. A consistent group of 30 kids showed up every Saturday morning hungry for structured activity and mentorship. When the school invited Tarik and his co-founder back the following fall, they launched after-school programs in football, soccer, basketball, and volleyball. Local news coverage of their work sparked interest from other schools and community organizations, and Active Plus was officially born in 2013. THE GAPS THEY'RE FILLING Active Plus addresses multiple critical needs in underserved communities. In New York City's massive public school system of over one million students, many neighborhoods lack adequate physical education, mentorship, and guidance on health and wellness. Additionally, school curricula often don't include nutrition education, leaving elementary-aged children who buy their own food at delis and corner stores without knowledge of healthy choices. The organization also recognized the need for mindfulness and emotional wellness programming years before the city mandated it in schools. COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAMMING MODEL Active Plus operates a multilayered approach that goes far beyond athletics. Their programs include physical fitness activities like basketball, dance, yoga, running, boxing, and calisthenics; mindfulness and emotional wellness through meditation and stress management; nutrition education for kids and families; and leadership and life skills development. They deliver these services directly to students in schools, parks, housing developments, and community centers across all five boroughs, rather than requiring kids to come to a facility. This go-to-the-community model ensures accessibility for the most underserved youth. THE FAMILY FLAVORS PROGRAM Tarik's favorite initiative is Family Flavors, a nutrition and cooking program that engages families together. This program has proven remarkably effective at drawing parents to school events—something traditional parent-teacher conferences often fail to do. When families cook together and learn about nutrition, they take that knowledge home and can replicate it, creating lasting behavioral change across households. RECESS AS AN ENTRY POINT The most requested program by school principals is Active Plus's structured recess programming. In New York City schools with limited outdoor space and over 100 kids at recess, unstructured free play often leads to chaos and injury. By providing trained, structured activities during recess time, Active Plus solves a major operational problem for schools while getting kids moving and building healthy habits. SCALING WITHOUT LOSING QUALITY Tarik emphasizes that the organization's growth from serving 30 kids to nearly 3,000 annually came from deliberately building infrastructure. He highlights the critical mistake many nonprofit founders make: trying to do everything themselves. Active Plus grew when Tarik and his co-Founder focused on building a strong board of directors with specialized committees for programming, marketing, finance, and fundraising. They treat the nonprofit like a business, recognizing that nonprofits generate income through multiple streams—grants, donations, volunteers, and sponsorships. MENTORSHIP ACROSS GENERATIONS A unique strength of Active Plus is how they leverage older youth as mentors. High school students from the neighborhoods where programs operate serve as summer camp instructors, coaches, and role models for younger children. This creates natural peer mentorship, makes younger kids feel safer, and provides meaningful employment and internship opportunities for teens. Several alumni have gone on to successful careers—including one former youth coach who is now a lawyer but still volunteers with the organization. DISRUPTING CYCLES OF CRIME AND GANG INVOLVEMENT Active Plus strategically uses its progra