Tag Archives: liz royster

Day 1 & Day 2 at Windham Mashup

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Hey everyone, we are officially at the mid-point in our Learn to Ride program. Like last year, our 4 day Learn to Ride program takes place at Windham Mountain. On our first day, Sunday, 1/23, Windham celebrated 50 years of service. Check out the cool ice sculpture:

Despite the freezing temperatures, Windham gave us a warm welcome back. They were just as excited to see us, as we were them. Our eager participants wasted no time gearing up for their first lesson of the year.

For the first day, we focused on courage and how it relates to snowboarding and everyday life. Everyone shared their definition of courage and gave examples of they were courageous. Day 2, we focused on discipline.  Needless to say we got some interesting definitions for that one, lol!

Day 2 was filled with great surprises: the staff at Windham Mountain donated tons of gear to us, our first snowboard race, and Edward conquered the Green trail.

Marcel, Khaliq, Edward, & Brandon

Elijah from our Snow Monsters group came in first place.

After just learning to link turns, Elijah came in first place!

Two of our Snow Angels came in second and third.

Taralyn came in second!

Mani aka Ms. Beastin for like 5 Hours, lol!

Malik, Isaac, Alexis, Jackie, Taralyn, Makhii, Justin, and Isaiah moved up to the Willpower trail, riding the chair lift for the first time. Jerrie and Shanelle also took the plunge and gave Willpower a shot as well. I’m willing to bet Jordan and Masai will be there next Sunday as they were the last to leave the slopes.

Jordan

Malik

Isaac

Snow Angel Alexis

Justin

Be sure to check out our Facebook page to see all of the pictures from Day 1 and Day 2. Til next time!

The Hidden Valley Club host Shred Love & Anchor House

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On Saturday, January 15th, The Hidden Valley Club welcomed Shred Love and Anchor House. Based in Trenton, New Jersey, Anchor House is a multi-service agency for runaway, homeless, abused, and at-risk youth and their families. Best known for being “family friendly” and the place, “where family memories last a lifetime”, The Hidden Valley Club made all of us feel welcomed. When we arrived at the Rental Shop, all of our gear was laid out and waiting for us.

Shanelle & Jerrie

Following the format of our 4 day Learn to Ride program, the Anchor House group attended their first lesson…

but  it didn’t take long for the magic to start.

No, your eyes aren’t fooling you, and yes Felix landed it! I was amazed by everyone, not just by their skills, but by their determination to get it. We’ve all heard stories of people being psyched about their first day of snowboarding, only to fall once and give up. But as in life, you can’t stop the first time your knocked on your “bum”, you have to dust yourself off and try again. That very lesson is the foundation of Shred Love.

For the 2010 – 2011 winter season, our focus will be on progression, goal setting, and developing creative problem solving skills. I know some may read “creative problem solving skills” and think, huh?! But if you really think about it, there is more than one way to skin a cat. And instead of accepting ‘no’ for an answer or taking the easy route, we’re planning to teach our participants how to find the best solution. I’ll stop there, because I could go on for days about setting goals, but I will leave you with this quote:

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. – Buddha

Think big, and then think bigger!

Special thanks to The Hidden Valley Club and Marianne, our board member, Mel Young for suggesting we reach out to Anchor House, everyone at the Anchor House, Russ, & Amy, Phil, and Tom of the NJ Herald.

And finally, a big thanks to our volunteer Jerrie and our teen mentors: Khaliq, Marcel, and Shanelle for their dedication.

Shred Love & Anchor House at The Hidden Valley Club

Go Snowboarding Day at Mountain Creek

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In the spirit of World Snowboard Day, Mountain Creek declared Monday, December 20th Go Snowboarding Day! Go Snowboarding Day gave hundreds of people the opportunity to become life long riders by taking advantage of Mountain Creek’s learn to ride package: lift tickets, rental equipment, and a 1.5 hour long lesson for FREE! So when Mountain Creek extended an invite to us to attend an evening session, we jumped at the opportunity. It was the perfect night for Shred Love to start off the 2010-2011 season; the conditions at the mountain were perfect, the participants were pumped to get back on their boards, and it was our board member, Mel‘s birthday. Did I mention we had the school yard to ourselves? Yeah, it was pretty sweet!

First time rider Masz

Masz was the only beginner volunteer. Our other volunteers were happy for the refresher and to be back out with the group. He wasn’t the only beginner, so was Nicky.

Nicky

Nicky rocks!

Here are more pictures of everyone, enjoy!

Brandon, Khaliq, & Mel aka Da Ryders

Halimah aka Ms. Black Diamond

Our shred monsters (l-r): Masai, Savion, Halimah, Tyson, & Zaakirah

World Snowboard Day 2010!

Big thanks to Mountain Creek (l-r)!: Hugh, Paul, Liz, & Nathan

Shred Love, Mountain Creek, & World Snowboard Day

Check out all of our pictures at Facebook. Check out Mountain Creek’s video here.

Get to Know Armani Rae!

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Get to know the newest big boss at Shred Love! Armani Rae started off as a participant and is now helping out with recruiting more girls and getting them hooked on snowboarding and photography.

Name: Armani Rae
About me: I’m very active, funny, and pretty. I do gymnastics and love to dance. I love old school music, R&B, hip hop,and pop.
What made you join Shred Love? I always had an inkling for snowboarding.
How has Shred Love changed your life? I met new people and learned how to go down the hill.
Firsts
First time I won a cheerleading competition, I was 10 years old.

Armani Rae & Coach Timeka

First time I got on a plane, I went to Florida.
First song I wrote is titled, “Live,Laugh, Love”.
First dance recital I was in, I was 6 years old.
First cartwheel I did I was 7 years old.

Check back Tuesday, January 4th for our next feature in the Get to Know Us series!

Get to Know Us

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Have we met?

No? Well its time we do! Over the next couple of weeks, we will do a “Get to Know Us” feature on the people behind Shred Love. To get the ball rolling, I decided to start with myself, so here goes!

Name: Elizabeth Royster but everyone calls me Liz

About me: I’m the proud mommy of Shanelle, Savion & Tyson. By day, I’m a Senior Quality Assurance Test Analyst aka a software tester, however I’m Shred Love 24/7, ask anyone! = )  I grew up in a pink house in Jersey City with my family – Mom & Dad, my brother Omar, and sisters: Poodie & Jerrie. Wait there’s more, it was a big pink house and a lot of family lived with us, so there were my godbrothers: Lamar, Tykwan, Brandon, and Andre, their mothers Bonnie and Alycia, and all of our pets: dogs, cats, birds, fish, newts, hamsters, guinea pigs, snakes, a rooster… ok too many to remember, lol! As an adult, I only have a few pets: fish, a dog named Pebbles, and a turtle named Slim Thug. People find my laugh and sneeze pretty memorable, lol! I love music, art (I can draw and paint), traveling, knitting, swimming (still learning), reading, and of course snowboarding. 

My daughter Shanelle

My son Savion

My youngest son Tyson

 

What role do you play at Shred Love? I’m the Founder and Executive Director of Shred Love. I should probably list more titles because of all of the work and dedication it takes to make Shred Love a success but I will stop there, no need to make this a 5 page post, lol!

My birthday at Ten East!

Why did you become a part of Shred Love? I became a part of Shred Love because its easy to sit back and point out what’s wrong with the world but its a lot more rewarding to actually change the world.

My "little" sis, Monique & I (Little from Big Brother Big Sister organization)

My "little" sis Monique & I (Little from Big Brothers Big Sisters)

How has Shred Love changed your life? Shred Love has given me the opportunity to give back what so many have given me – a chance. I firmly believe I wouldn’t be where I am today without the help and guidance of so many others. At times, I think people put too little value on how a small act of kindness can impact a person’s life. As a teen mother, so many people thought I would fail, almost as if my fate had been sealed. If it wasn’t for the support of a few teachers, friends, and family members, I’m pretty sure life for me would be completely different. Therefore, I feel its only right, that I show others that despite how hard or bad things may seem right now, it can always be better. We are all living proof. One way or another we’ve all had to overcome some obstacles in life and for as long as we live, there will be more. By helping others through those times, we prepare ourselves for the same.

Shred Love has also forced me to set higher goals and become more creative in finding solutions to my problems and that of Shred Love. Our first year panned out to be better than I had ever expected, which to me meant I needed to dream bigger. With all of the success we’ve had so far, I can’t wait to see what the future has in store.

Shred Love

Firsts

First time I had ever seen a snowboard, I was 14 years old.

First time I went snowboarding, I was 30 years old and was sore for 3 days.

First trick I landed was a butter.

First day of Shred Love’s learn to ride program in 2010, was the First time I cried on a mountain. = )

Check back next Tuesday to see who’s next!

-Liz

An Epic Night for An Epic Cause

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Our dinner at Soul Flavors on Wednesday, October 20th was a success! The sold event raised money for our 2011 programs and operations, enabling us to serve more youth. The packed house was filled with participants (new and returning) and their parents, volunteers, mentors, teen mentors, and supporters of Shred Love. So let’s start with our raffle winners:

Netta & our first winner, Monica

 

Mrs. Fowlkes with her winnings!

The only guy to win, Rob (he's also one of our new mentors!)

Dr. Coleman won a gift card to Soul Flavors

And since all of our young attendees walked away with gift bags, I’ll waste no time in sharing more pictures from the evening.

Our volunteer Darlene and her son, Adam... yeah he's a rider!

Our future Betties: Natalie & Monique

Our guests

 

Assemblyman Charles Mainor & our Founder, Liz

To see all of the pictures from the evening, check out our Facebook page and if you aren’t already a friend, don’t forget to send a friend request. ; ) 

Special thanks goes out to all of our guests, SOS Outreach, The Hidden Valley Club, Windham Mountain, Soul Flavors, Snowboard Addiction, Assemblyman Charles Mainor, The Jersey Journal, Bayonne Community News, Youngsworld, LLC, and Darlene Sarr. 

'Til next time!

Back to School!

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On Saturday, 9/11/2010, Shred Love joined Evangelist Kathleen Lowery and Gospel Services Non-Denominational Church for its Back to School event. Thanks to the beautiful weather, families from the community were able to enjoy an outdoor movie and plenty of food. At the end of the event, bookbags full of school supplies were distributed, along with jewelry and wallets for the adults. Shred Love donated over 100 books! The books were a part of a donation to Shred Love on behalf of Half Price Books, Corporation for National  & Community Service, and Up2Us.

Overall it was a beautiful day, to serve the community and remember those impacted by 9/11.

Check out the pictures below.

Evangelist Kathleen Lowery, Zaakirah of Shred Love, & Liz

 

Special thanks to our volunteers Halimah Muhammad & Shanelle Royster! To see the rest of the pictures, check out our Facebook page.  To learn more about Gospel Services Non Denominational Church, visit them at:

Gospel Services Non Denominational Church

175 (Munn) Pastor Vann L. Lowery Sr. Ave

Irvington, NJ 07111

Impacting Youth through Snowboarding

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Up 2 Us recently published it Skiing and Snowboarding Fact Sheet. The fact sheet provides some statistical data on the impact skiing and snowboarding has on youth, further proving the value in skiing & snowboarding programs like Shred Love.

Check it out! Skiing and Snowboarding Factsheet