kendra chambers Archives - Athletes for Hope

Kendra Chambers, Community Hero of the Week

Posted: February 24, 2022 Updated: February 24, 2022 by kReeves

USTAF’s Kendra Chambers is this week’s Community Hero!

Kendra Chambers of USA Track & Field epitomizes the mission of Athletes for Hope. Even though she’s full time professional athlete, Kendra still finds the time to use her platform to advance the causes she cares about through AFH campaigns, initiatives and programs.

Over the past 5+ years, Kendra has consistently volunteered her time with schools from across the country through our AFH Fit Program. She’s also worked with us to raise awareness about food insecurity, COVID-19 vaccine access, voting rights, and mental health (just to name a few!) through social media campaigns. Kendra has also filmed videos sending good wishes to children in hospitals and participated in food bank visits in Texas. Outside of her work with us, she recently hosted a track and field clinic in her hometown of El Paso, TX at her high school alma mater.

“[AFH] makes doing what I love – which is inspiring kids by spreading my story – so much easier on me. They have made all of my school visits much more rewarding and meaningful because I get to focus on being an elite athlete while they help me get connected with future generations!”
Kendra Chambers

Kendra is one of our most committed AFH members and it is no wonder she was selected the AFH Member of the Year in 2020. What’s most impressive about Kendra is that she accomplishes all of the great work in the community with a smile on her face and giving spirit. We could not be more proud to work with athletes like Kendra.

Athlete Highlight: Kendra Chambers

Posted: April 11, 2017 Updated: April 11, 2017 by bsanchez

As we celebrate our 10^th year of helping athletes connect with causes they care about, we want to highlight the extraordinary efforts of our member athletes. This month, we are highlighting USA Track and Field’s, Kendra Chambers.

Over the last few years, Kendra has volunteered multiple times at local schools through our collaboration with Let’s Move Active Schools. We sat down with Kendra to ask her about her experience with AFH and giving back.

AFH: “How has AFH helped you with your philanthropic journey?”

Kendra: “AFH had helped me in so many ways. They make doing what I love which is inspiring kids by spreading my story so much easier on me. They have made all of my school visits much more rewarding and meaningful because I get to focus on being an elite athlete while they help me get connected with our future generations!”

AFH: “What is your favorite memory or experience in working with AFH?”

Kendra: “My favorite memory is when I went to a school and they had posters of me everywhere, they printed out pictures and they practically knew everything about me. (It is such blessing to have the platform that we athletes do!) I was excited to share my story with them but they knew it all. It was funny yet extreme humbling at the same time. I’ll always remembering feeling pretty famous that day!”

“AFH is special. Not many athletes think about others or have the time to. They’ve created a program that works but more importantly gets kids active eating right and they are excited about meeting somebody who cares about them. I can’t say enough about the people of AHF, they give us hope knowing that there are people out there who care just as much as you do about our future leaders and how our youth is developing now. I’m extremely grateful for AFH! Thank you!”

Thank YOU, Kendra, for being such a strong AFH member over the years. We appreciate your drive to help others – especially the kids.

Kendra Chambers Visits Colonial Hills

Posted: February 25, 2016 Updated: September 21, 2021 by bsanchez

College track star and Olympic hopeful, Kendra Chambers, stopped by Colonial Hills Elementary School in San Antonio, Texas. She talked about the importance of eating the right foods, exercising, working hard and what it means to persevere.

Kendra was a 4-time All American and 4-time Big XII Champion, running the 400m, 4x400m Relay, and the 800m. She made the switch to the 800m in the middle of her collegiate career at the University of Texas, and now is going to try out for the Olympics this year. We asked Kendra why she decided to give back to kids through the Let’s Move Active Schools movement.

Why did you volunteer?

I volunteered with Athletes for Hope because it’s important that we as athletes give back to the community. The community we train in and live in have plenty of kids who were just like us and looking for that role model or mentor. I hope that I can inspire at least one child when I volunteer my time to go speak to them. It makes it all worth it.

What draws you to this cause?

What draws me to this cause is my story. I was once in their shoes. I remember being in elementary school and l loved to run. But nobody ever explained to me what track and field was until middle school. This cause matters because all athletes were beginners once upon a time and if we can speak to the new generation of beginners and let them know how important it is to be active, to eat healthy, to work hard in school, to join a sport, to get good grades and apply for college, we can be great examples for the next generation.

What was your favorite part of the day?

My favorite part of the day was after I was finished speaking to the kids, on their way out, one little girl said “You are just like me” It seemed to me she hadn’t seen anyone like her do the things she wanted to do in life. She went to explain how she was on the track team and how we shared the same first name, Kendra. But it was more than those similarities that caught her attention and mine as well.

These communities need to see examples of what real successful people look like, that also look like them. We as athletes need to be transparent and tangible because it’s one thing to watch TV or read about role models in books, but when we bring it to the schools and we sit and talk with the kids, I truly believe it can change lives. I may not be a Usain Bolt and these students may never get the chance to meet him, so if I can just tell my story and encourage and inspire them, then we’ve all done our part in serving the community.