Optimum Nutrition® is Building Better Lives Through Community Fitness Equipment Donation to Davante Adams and Justin Jefferson Hometowns

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., Jan. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Optimum Nutrition announced today that it will donate outdoor fitness equipment to East Palo Alto, Ca. and Saint Rose, La., as part of its Building Better Lives program, which aims to heighten awareness and address disparities in access to fitness. Professional wide receivers Davante Adams and Justin Jefferson championed the program, which is in its first year, by rallying fans in a friendly 5-Week Fitness Challenge competition to earn much-needed public fitness resources for their hometowns. As a result of overwhelming support for both communities, Optimum Nutrition opted to award outdoor fitness equipment to both communities rather than choosing a single winner. Through the program each community will receive a variety of cardio and strength training equipment, such as suspension trainers, magnetic bells, sport bikes, cross trainers, pull up stations and more.

"People from all over the country logged on to our Building Better Lives website to participate in virtual workouts, download educational materials, and throw their support behind both of our featured communities," said Jim Hogan, Optimum Nutrition director of brand management. "In the end, the numbers were so close, and the support was so overwhelming, we decided to reward both cities with the prize. Optimum Nutrition believes that everyone wins when they have access to quality fitness resources."

Adams and Jefferson each promoted the program and participated in a hometown fitness event during the 5-Week Challenge.

The fitness equipment in St. Rose will be installed in Parquet Park, a community park funded and developed by the Ed Reed Foundation. Reed, like Jefferson, grew up in St. Rose and went on to have a hall-of-fame career in pro football. Both athletes share a passion for giving back to their community, which suffered severe damage from Hurricane Ida in August of this year.

Jefferson joined Reed for a video call last month to discuss the fitness equipment installation, and to deliver the additional news that Optimum Nutrition funded 200 Thanksgiving meal boxes for residents of New Orleans, in support of the Reed Feeds Thanksgiving Blessings program of the Ed Reed Foundation.

"I have a lot of support where I'm from, so I wanted to give back. We never really had a place in the community that we could go to ? I teamed up with Optimum Nutrition to build a fitness resource for our community. I'm sure they're going to love it, they'll go crazy for it," said Justin Jefferson.

Davante Adams, now entering his eighth year in professional football, proudly announced to the East Palo Alto community that Jack Farrell Park will soon have a new fitness resource from Optimum Nutrition, giving residents the tools to transforms their lives through fitness.

"A big part of who I am today is from growing up in East Palo Alto. I still remember as a 10-year-old kid there weren't many resources there, but I still found a way," Adams said. "I worked out at Jack Farrell Park, which wasn't always the friendliest place. Through this partnership with Optimum Nutrition, that park is going to have brand new fitness equipment the whole community can use. It means a lot to me to be able to make that happen."

Optimum Nutrition selected KOMPAN Sport & Fitness as its Building Better Lives equipment partner. KOMPAN seeks to help create healthier and happier communities through fitness solutions that accommodate all ages, levels and abilities.

KOMPAN worked with Optimum Nutrition to design custom installations for East Palo Alto and St. Rose. The fitness resource includes on-site signage and a free KOMPAN mobile app to help instruct community members on the variety of ways they can use the equipment.

"Optimum Nutrition is excited to bring free, accessible, quality fitness equipment to communities in need of resources," said Hogan. "We believe in the power of fitness to transform lives. The Building Better Lives program ? including our free, expert coaching resources and these gifts of equipment ? is all about helping to address the gaps in access to fitness so that everyone has a chance to achieve their goals. Ultimately, we believe Building Better Lives can help create a more diverse and inclusive fitness industry."

For those who want to take advantage of free, expert fitness resources from Optimum Nutrition, the 5-Week Fitness Challenge content is still available at www.ONBuildingBetterLives.com. Suited for all levels of fitness, the content includes cardio, strength training workouts, nutrition tips, and mind-body wellness practices, with special hosting appearances from celebrities and notable names in the athletic community.

The Building Better Lives Program
Optimum Nutrition® announced the Building Better Lives program in May of 2021, rooted in the company's belief in the transformative power of fitness. Building Better Lives is an ongoing, national purpose-driven program that seeks to improve access to fitness resources and address disparities in underserved populations to create a more diverse, inclusive fitness industry. Optimum Nutrition® intends to expand reach of the program to additional communities in 2022 and beyond. To learn more about the Building Better Lives program, athletes, and communities, visit ONBuildingBetterLives.com.

About Optimum Nutrition^®
Part of Glanbia Performance Nutrition, Optimum Nutrition^® is a leading global sports nutrition brand. We produce a wide variety of delicious, high-quality nutritional foods and beverages that support an active and healthy lifestyle, including bars, protein powders, ready-to-drink shakes and beverages, energy products, multivitamins and more. Optimum Nutrition^® GOLD STANDARD 100% WHEYtm is universally recognized as the world's #1 best-selling whey protein powder. With state-of- the-art manufacturing facilities in the United States and the United Kingdom, our products are sold in 90+ countries around the world. We're proud to be part of a diverse and inclusive organization that believes sports are better when everyone can join in. For more information about Optimum Nutrition®, visit www.optimumnutrition.com.

About Glanbia Performance Nutrition 
Glanbia Performance Nutrition (GPN) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Glanbia (ISE/LSE: GLAPF), a global nutrition company. At GPN, our mission is to inspire people everywhere to achieve their performance and healthy lifestyle goals. Our leading health and wellness brands include Optimum Nutrition®, SlimFast®, think!®, Isopure®, Amazing Grass® and BSN®, among others. Revenues for GPN in 2020 were approximately $1.4 billion. Visit www.glanbiaperformancenutrition.com or www.glanbia.com to learn more. Follow us on Twitter @GlanbiaPN. 

SOURCE Optimum Nutrition