Weightlifting, Wellness, and Wisdom for Tomorrow's Leaders

Inspiring confidence, strength of character, youth leadership, and community building among youth through weightlifting, wellness, and mentorship. We help kids lift the weight of adversity through our trauma-responsive and culture-affirming approach. Our trainers help mentor youths in the community through weightlifting, yoga, and life-skills fitness activities.

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Building Character, Lifting Lives

Dynamic Youth Health & Wellness Company in Charlotte

Welcome to Lifting Inspirations, LLC, a youth health and wellness company that approaches the challenges of child trauma in a unique and impactful way. What makes us stand out? It's our focus on bodybuilding-style weight training, a dynamic approach that ...

Empowerment Through Weightlifting, Wellness, and Mentorship

Committed to a purpose-driven mission that's all about making a positive difference, we're here to help young guys of color feel more confident, develop strong character, step up as leaders, and bring communities together. Our approach is pretty cool: we ...

Lift, Lead, Thrive

Mission

To inspire youth confidence, character, leadership, and community-building through weightlifting, wellness, and mentorship.

Vision

Lifting Inspirations envisions a nation of strong, healthy, confident, and courageous youth, resilient to adversity and equipped for leadership.

Core Values

  • Integrity: We hold ourselves to standards of excellence that involve personal and company honesty, transparency, and accountability.
  • Safe and Progressive: Building strength through weight lifting is a process. We start the youth with lighter weights and make progress over time. Weightlifting is supervised at all times, ensuring personal attention, proper form, and age- and strength-appropriate weights.
  • Trauma-Responsive: We view youth behavior through a trauma lens, paying attention to behaviors that reflect exposure to traumatizing experiences. We practice compassion, encourage authentic relationships and youth voice expression to foster healing, and utilize trauma-aware coaching practices for sports as trauma intervention.
  • Culture-Affirming: We respect and uplift racial identity, uphold diverse perspectives, experiences, and learning styles, celebrate cultural and personal difference, support individual and group dignity, and, where necessary, encourage critical reflection on stereotypes, personal bias, and other damaging assumptions.
  • Respect: We teach and role model honor and respect for elders, respect for self and peers, teachers, family, and members of the community, and respect for rules, laws, and property.
  • Belief and Perseverance: We steadfastly believe in the excellence of each young male. We use strengths-based approaches to support and encourage, and we maintain an unwavering commitment to helping each youth overcome adversity.

Our Inspiring Founder

Dr. Laurie Garo (Founder and Executive Director) has a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction (Urban Education) with research on child trauma and trauma-responsive interventions. She received the Best Dissertation Award in the Counseling Division of the American Education Research Association (AERA). Through her work with the Department of Justice's Project Safe Neighborhoods, she has over 20 years of experience in gun violence research and youth violence intervention. Laurie is certified in Ultimate Body Building through the International Association of Fitness Sciences and in Neurosequential Model in Sport (NM-Sport; the study of trauma therapeutics and healing principles through sports). She has been competing in bodybuilding for over 12 years. Her combination of education, research skills, and experience makes her uniquely positioned to lead the work of Lifting Inspirations, LLC.

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Highlights

Empowering youth
Female leadership
Wellness mentorship
Developing character
Building resilience
Uniting community
Boosting confidence
Cultural affirmation

Contact

Connect for Empowerment and Growth

We're thrilled that you're interested in Lifting Inspirations' unique approach to nurturing resilience and empowering youth. Whether you're curious about our innovative programs, the transformative impact of weightlifting and wellness, or how mentorship plays a pivotal role in our mission, we're here to answer your questions. Reach out through the form below, and let's embark on a journey of positive change together. Your inquiry matters, and we're excited to hear from you!

Donate to our Non-profit Affiliate

Mind, Body & Soul, Inc.

Donations to Mind, Body & Soul, Inc. will support our provision of access to trauma-informed programming for low income children and youth who are at risk for trauma from exposure to violence and related adversity. We express our sincere gratitude in advance for your thoughtful generosity.

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