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Breckyn Bussey
St Joseph
Hero Story
Wow, this young lady is a mover and a shaker!! Breckyn Bussey, now 17 years old and a senior at St. Joseph High School, created her community service project, “Flippin’ For Fitness”, at the young age of 12 years old. She is making a huge impact around Michigan (and beyond) and continues to inspire our youth to live their best, healthiest lives by helping them realize the importance of getting at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day and making healthy food choices to fuel their bodies correctly. She also promotes getting outside, off of electronics, and moving more, a message that is very important for our youth to hear, now more than ever.
After experiencing some of her own health challenges, Breckyn, a competitive dancer, quickly learned through her doctors that her quick healing and recovery were due to her being very physically fit. She began to think about the other children still in the hospital, and after doing some research, she soon learned that lack of exercise is the norm for many children in our nation, which in turn can negatively affect their health and recovery time from illness or injury. Breckyn then made it her mission to teach children the importance of keeping fitness as a central part of their lifestyle to help prevent many diseases and to support their long-term health.
Over the years, Breckyn has arranged sports equipment drives for children at two area shelters, read fun books to elementary classes about fitness, and arranged local “Dancers Day of Service” events. She has raised over $1500 for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, became a Girls on the Run Junior Coach and “Sole Mate” fundraiser, and she also developed a program for area Girl Scouts to achieve their Physical Fitness and Dance badges.
During the Covid-19 lockdown, Breckyn didn’t slow down a bit and instead decided to get creative during a very challenging time! She continued her outreach, motivating children to get moving more & eating healthy, through social media and her website, www.flippinforfitness.com, and she was able to grow her partnerships with state and national organizations. She was invited to create fitness videos that were used by the Michigan Fitness Foundation for their All Children Exercise Simultaneously (ACES) Day virtual event and she also created fitness and activity videos for Girls on the Run that were used locally and nationally to inspire the kids to stay active. She was honored to be nominated by the American Heart Association as a “West Michigan Teen of Impact” and raised over $3000 for the organization during the Teen of Impact campaign. In addition, Breckyn used that time during lockdown to write her first children’s book called “Let’s Get Moving!” to teach children about getting enough physical activity each day. It will be published and available this January, 2022!
Breckyn is nominated as a Michigan Hero because she is an outstanding teen in so many ways. She is a born leader and inspires others to be the best version of themselves. Her list of other volunteering activities in the community is extensive and includes the Therapeutic Equestrian Center, Humane Society, the Berrien County Blanket Brigade, along with many volunteering activities as a member of her school's Interact Club, Key Club, and National Honor Society, and across Michigan as Miss Washtenaw County’s Outstanding Teen (2018) and Miss Oakland County’s Outstanding Teen (2019 and 2020). In her high school, Breckyn was voted by her peers as a member of Student Senate for four years, Student Senate Treasurer, and Junior and Senior Class President. Besides dancing on a competitive dance team, Breckyn has been a varsity cheerleader, a member of her high school dance team, and is a teacher cadet for first graders at a local elementary school.
Currently, Breckyn is hard at work and in the process of collecting athletic shoes and raising funds to reach her goal of providing 500 pairs of athletic shoes for local children in need. She definitely is a great inspiration and is making a difference in the lives of others!
Breckyn Bussey
St Joseph
Hero Story
Wow, this young lady is a mover and a shaker!! Breckyn Bussey, now 17 years old and a senior at St. Joseph High School, created her community service project, “Flippin’ For Fitness”, at the young age of 12 years old. She is making a huge impact around Michigan (and beyond) and continues to inspire our youth to live their best, healthiest lives by helping them realize the importance of getting at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day and making healthy food choices to fuel their bodies correctly. She also promotes getting outside, off of electronics, and moving more, a message that is very important for our youth to hear, now more than ever.
After experiencing some of her own health challenges, Breckyn, a competitive dancer, quickly learned through her doctors that her quick healing and recovery were due to her being very physically fit. She began to think about the other children still in the hospital, and after doing some research, she soon learned that lack of exercise is the norm for many children in our nation, which in turn can negatively affect their health and recovery time from illness or injury. Breckyn then made it her mission to teach children the importance of keeping fitness as a central part of their lifestyle to help prevent many diseases and to support their long-term health.
Over the years, Breckyn has arranged sports equipment drives for children at two area shelters, read fun books to elementary classes about fitness, and arranged local “Dancers Day of Service” events. She has raised over $1500 for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, became a Girls on the Run Junior Coach and “Sole Mate” fundraiser, and she also developed a program for area Girl Scouts to achieve their Physical Fitness and Dance badges.
During the Covid-19 lockdown, Breckyn didn’t slow down a bit and instead decided to get creative during a very challenging time! She continued her outreach, motivating children to get moving more & eating healthy, through social media and her website, www.flippinforfitness.com, and she was able to grow her partnerships with state and national organizations. She was invited to create fitness videos that were used by the Michigan Fitness Foundation for their All Children Exercise Simultaneously (ACES) Day virtual event and she also created fitness and activity videos for Girls on the Run that were used locally and nationally to inspire the kids to stay active. She was honored to be nominated by the American Heart Association as a “West Michigan Teen of Impact” and raised over $3000 for the organization during the Teen of Impact campaign. In addition, Breckyn used that time during lockdown to write her first children’s book called “Let’s Get Moving!” to teach children about getting enough physical activity each day. It will be published and available this January, 2022!
Breckyn is nominated as a Michigan Hero because she is an outstanding teen in so many ways. She is a born leader and inspires others to be the best version of themselves. Her list of other volunteering activities in the community is extensive and includes the Therapeutic Equestrian Center, Humane Society, the Berrien County Blanket Brigade, along with many volunteering activities as a member of her school's Interact Club, Key Club, and National Honor Society, and across Michigan as Miss Washtenaw County’s Outstanding Teen (2018) and Miss Oakland County’s Outstanding Teen (2019 and 2020). In her high school, Breckyn was voted by her peers as a member of Student Senate for four years, Student Senate Treasurer, and Junior and Senior Class President. Besides dancing on a competitive dance team, Breckyn has been a varsity cheerleader, a member of her high school dance team, and is a teacher cadet for first graders at a local elementary school.
Currently, Breckyn is hard at work and in the process of collecting athletic shoes and raising funds to reach her goal of providing 500 pairs of athletic shoes for local children in need. She definitely is a great inspiration and is making a difference in the lives of others!