Exercising is a proven tool in combating anxiety and improving one’s health, and, many acknowledge, an empowering tool that can connect the body with the mind.

Seeing this, Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) grad Gina Calderone is on a quest to help children gain confidence through physical therapy—calling her work PROJECTbraincore.

Calderone is a physiotherapeutic healer and heads the Empowered Health Foundation. She created the nonprofit braincore program to prevent children from the destructive patterns of pain and disease that she saw in her adult patients, she told the Post in an interview. 

She believes assisting children in finding the strength they need to persevere later in life, or, helping them at an early age, is a vastly effective and important strategy in curbing unhealthy habits. 

“I saw that the program was vital with kids [than my adult patients] in strengthening their bodies and increasing their perception with the mind,” said Calderone. 

The program, implemented at Fremont Elementary and Grant Elementary with first graders and kindergarteners, utilizes physical activities like skipping and jump roping to help children reduce stress and anxiety, program volunteer Jaclyn Munzer said in an interview. The program mainly helps children with low skill development.

“We teach kids to manage energy when their anxiety level gets out of control and channel it to build confidence in school activities,” Munzer told the Post. “We saw a shift in confidence and courage levels in the kids [at the schools]. They love it and [the results] have been very positive.”

According to both Munzer and Calderone, braincore is in the process of being written as a curriculum program to be further implemented into many more schools in Long Beach. To further increase awareness of the program, the Empowered Health Foundation is hosting a screening of The Mask You Live In documentary at the Art Theatre on Wednesday, November 30, at 7:00PM. 

Tickets will be $20 online, $25 for adults and $12 for students onsite. The event is for ages 13 and older. For more information, click here. The Art Theatre is located at 2025 East 4th Street. All proceeds will go towards PROJECTbraincore.