Laila Little, Class of ’98, is giving back to her community…to Link, the City of Newark and beyond. To Link, Ms. Little has brought her passionate concern for children’s health and Double Dutch jump roping to a weekly elective class. Ms. Little started jumping rope at a young age at the Boys and Girls Club in Newark and continued competitively through high school and college. The mentoring and support she received plus the awareness of the socio-economic issues facing the underprivileged inspired her to give back to others. Ultimately she founded Jump Kids Health, an organization with the mission to combat childhood obesity and mental health issues through therapy, nutritional counseling, and competitive Double Dutch training in Newark, Philadelphia, the Bronx, Brooklyn and, soon, West Virginia. Joining Ms. Little in Jump Kids Health are two other Link alumnae – Khaila Cross ’98 and Tiffany Walker ’02.
Laila’s Background
Internationally known in the sport of Double Dutch for over twenty-five years. Ms. Little co-starred on Lifetime’s Docu-series. “Jump” and is also the co-founder of world-renowned Floyd Little’s Double Dutch. She has touched the lives of over 15,000 youth around the globe including Ghana, Morocco, Guyana, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten and nearly every state in the US. Realizing that her double dutch programs were doing more than winning competitions and realizing the needs of inner-city children, she was inspired to establish Jump Kids Health as a platform to treat children: physically, emotionally, and mentally with a focus on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and childhood obesity. Born and raised in Newark, NJ, Ms. Little understands the catastrophic impact of poverty, dysfunctional homes, crime, poor education and the lack of therapeutic and psychological help has on the underprivileged.
Jump Kids Health (JHK)
JKH treatment centers use an integrated approach to treating patients by providing routine ACE screenings, behavioral health assessments, and physical examinations, with a goal to allow for early detection, intervention and prevention of risk factors for health issues such as diabetes, thyroid disease, asthma. and or any life-threatening ailments. JKH has a medical team and world-renowned activity specialist coaches with experience with an innovative approach to treatment, making it fun but result driven. Treatment centers are located throughout the tri-state and surrounding areas— at locations such as Newark, Jersey City, Philadelphia, York, The Bronx, Brooklyn, and, soon, West Virginia.
