Corporate Leadership Team Lends Insight and Sports Expertise to Native American Youth

PLEXIS Healthcare Systems’ CEO Jorge Yant joined his family on the soccer field instead of the boardroom last week, as they donated their time and talent at the annual NativeVision Sports & Life Skills Camp from June 6-9 in Tuba City, Arizona. Serving the youth of one of the most at-risk and underserved communities in America, PLEXIS’ Corporate Leadership team lead the soccer component of the camp and worked directly with over 100 children.

Practicing the company’s commitment to supporting social programs, Yant was joined by his daughter Alyson Hollewijn, the company’s Wellness Coordinator, and his son-in-law Chris Hollewijn, Director of Facilities and Administration. The event was particularly auspicious as Tuba City Regional Healthcare is a recent PLEXIS client. “It was tremendously rewarding to work on the ground in a grassroots way to support a community that supports us, directly giving back,” Yant said.

NativeVision is a partnership operated by Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health and the National Football League Players Association, mobilizing NFL players and other professional athletes as mentors for Native youth. The guiding principle for NativeVision is to cultivate the core strengths, values and positive relationships for American Indian youth that will make them resilient to the prevailing risks and help them transition to healthy, productive and fulfilling adulthood.

Empowerment is a main theme at the camp, one that the PLEXIS team knows well. Yant came from Mexico at the age of 13, excelling through the educational system and onto much success through hard work and commitment to achieving. Through his many years on the soccer field, he learned leadership skills through teamwork. “I know the struggles these children face, I faced them myself. Having a strong commitment to cultural identity while also being forward thinking in lifestyle choices is an important balance,” Yant said.

Six different sport clinics were featured over the three-day camp in Tuba City: football, basketball, soccer, track, lacrosse, and volleyball. The professional athletes who conducted the NativeVision sports clinics interspersed their athletic teachings with breakout sessions that promoted empowerment, discipline, teamwork and the pursuit of education. Members of the Navajo tribe sponsored events and feasts that promoted cultural pride and traditional strengths for the youth attendees. Also on the coaching roster this year was 1996 track and field gold medalist Anthuan Maybank; Joe Meriweather of the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and Kansas City Kings; Clark Gaines of the New York Jets; Sid Jamieson and Jeremy Thompson of the Iroquois National Team; and many more former college and professional athletes.

“I could have never organized the NativeVision camp without the assistance of so many people from around the country who come together every year to make this dream a reality,” Marlena Hammen, NativeVision Coordinator said. “It was a joy to work with our volunteers, the Tuba City community and the Navajo Nation.”

 

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