Mario Lopez is known for being a bit of a fitness buff, but his latest project, he tells Guideposts.org, is dedicated to “building muscles for the brain.”
The former Saved By the Bell star and current Extra TV host is partnering with Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) to bring at risk youth into the classroom and in front of a computer with the organization’s new initiative, My.Future.
“My.Future gives club kids access to a digital world that they otherwise might not be exposed to,” Lopez tells Guideposts.org of the new program aimed at providing kids a technological foundation. “It helps them learn skills they need to compete in the workforce.”
The new venture continues BGCA’s mission of inspiring, educating and empowering young people, this time, by helping them to develop a digital literacy that will sustain them into adulthood.
The program promises club members will have the ability to learn everything, from online journalism, robotics and game design to coding in the effort to get kids interested in STEM education – science, technology, engineering and math.
“Hopefully [the program will] instill a passion that they might want to pursue as a career. That’s the goal,” Lopez says.
For Lopez, the ability to give back to the club that gave him so much as a child is the most rewarding part of joining this new initiative.
“[The Boys and Girls Clubs] had huge impact on my life and that’s why I continue to work with them,” Lopez explains. “I was an inner city kid and both of my parents worked so it kept me out of trouble and exposed me to a positive environment and people that cared about me. That’s why I always want to give back.”
Lopez, who grew up in the club, winning wrestling championships at the Chula Vista chapter before graduating to become an alumni and the organization’s Health and Fitness ambassador, says having children of his own has only strengthened his desire to help kids who are in the same position he once was in.
“[It’s about] investing in the future,” Lopez affirms. “I want my own kids to have these skill sets. I think every parent would want that for their kids.”
