Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc. Philanthropy Thursday!
Happy Philanthropy Thursday Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc. Family,

Congratulations to our friends at Be First Boxing,
Wes Artope, Jordan Artope, Michele Cunningham and Janice Tota on their acting debut performance in the new movie Lola.


Tomorrow, 8/14/20, CLICK HERE for your free virtual pass.

Not too many people know that Kevin and I are huge boxing fans! Some of our favorite boxers were Muhammed Ali, of course, George Foreman, Joe Louis, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Robinson, Felix Trinidad, and Roy Jones, Jr.   Yes, we are looking forward to seeing the exhibition match between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones, Jr. in November, 2020! 

Our family was lucky to bump into Felix Trinidad at an amusement park while we were on vacation a few years ago. My son Kendall and I took a picture with Trinidad after an exciting ride on a roller coaster. He was mobbed by hundreds of other folks who were excited to see him too.  However, he graciously took
time with each and every one of us. I love boxers. Many of them have huge hearts!
In 1997, when Kevin and I started dating, we actually trained together in Yonkers, NY with a boxing coach. We spent many Friday evening “date nights” at a Yonkers boxing gym that a budding entrepreneur/boxer at the time named Nick DeLury opened with the guidance of his mentor Kid Sharkey. Nick eventually moved his gym to White Plains, NY. Kid Sharkey unfortunately passed away, in 2016 at the age of 98. His favorite line was, “don’t give up, you’ve got to keep punching”! It takes stamina to do one Round in the ring. It’s no joke!
Kid Sharkey was a World War II Vet, and former boxer, who started his boxing career in White Plains, NY in the 1930’s. Sharkey crossed gloves with many top notch leather slingers most notably with the great Sugar Ray Robinson and former lightweight King Lew Ambers. One of my favorite activists and journalists Herb Boyd along with Ray Robinson II, co-wrote a great biography about Sugar Ray titled “Pound For Pound”. Great book!
Boxing is a great way for MWBEs to get in shape and stay healthy. It is a great stress reliever, builds endurance, strength, physical and mental discipline. This week Kecia and Kevin are would like to congratulate our dear friends, Wes Artope, Executive Director at Be First Boxing, Jordan Artope, Wes’ son, Be First Boxing Coach’s Michele Cunningham (Owner of Zen Fitness/Box Like a Lady) and Janice Tota on their acting debut performances in the new movie Lola!  

See Jordan on the bottom left corner of the poster. See Michele, with the blond short afro, on the upper right of the poster. 

Lola has been nominated as one of the movies to see in the (AABF) American black film festival this year. This incredible film, Directed by AAF’s Antoine Allen, starring the sensational Taja V. Simpson (BET, The OVAL) is a must see!

VIRTUAL PASSES
Registration for the free Community pass or Industry pass opens August 21st.
Get your free passes HERE on Friday, 8/21/2020, to watch this film and others.

Michele is my boxing coach. She gets me and a group of “kick-butt” women in shape in Depew Park in Peekskill, NY during Weekly Box Like A Lady Bootcamp classes. Michele owns two businesses, Zen Your Closet and Zen Power’d Fitness. You will definitely a great workout with her during her bootcamp. Disclaimer, I am not a fan of planks. LOL! However, I get through
them with Michele’s help. The Box Like a Lady Bootcamp women absolutely adore Coach Michele because she keeps us motivated and focused! She is certified instructor and is fierce! Coach Michele and Coach Janice were trained as Coaches by Wes and give you a great workout! 

I heard that Coach Michele was very impressive in her film debut with her boxing moves. I can’t wait to see the Film. She’s also a great closet organizer. She organized my closet which now saves me a lot of time selecting outfits to wear daily. She is one of my dearest friends and co-facilitator of my NY2 Go On Book Club Chapter.
Zen Your Closet
Zen Power’d Fitness
One of the boxing trainers in the film is our dear friend Wes. In addition to being Executive Director at Be First Boxing, where Wes trains top professional, amateur boxers, adult and children boxing enthusiasts, Wes is a highly recognized animal behaviorist, trainer and consultant. He was featured on Animal Planet. I call him the “animal whisper”! He earned his degree from Howard University in zoology.

Along with working for a private practice, he also has his own animal consultant business, Pet-Ology LLC, and lectures on interactions between animals and people. His son Jordan is one of the most gifted and disciplined athletes that I have ever met. He is a great football player, wrestler and distance runner. Most of all, he is a top scholar! I heard that he’s great in the film!

My teen-aged sons have been training with Wes for years (photo at right). See them in their younger days seated in their orange (Kyle) and yellow (Kendall) T-shirts attentively listening to Wes (below).
My son Kendall, a Junior at Peekskill HS this past year, was Division I Champion in his weight class. He even made it to the 1st round in the Sectionals. His friend Omar, also a Junior, trained intensively with Wes this year and made it to the Section Finals in his weight class. He came in 2nd place. These were great accomplishments since it was only Kendall’s 2nd year Wrestling and Omar’s first year Wrestling. Kendall lead his Varsity Wrestling team as captain and has been a role model for many of the athletes at his school. Kendall and Omar put the Peekskill Varsity Wrestling Program back on the map and become local heroes to Middle School Wrestlers. Encouraging them to shoot for the stars. Wes is an excellent trainer and a dear friend to Kevin and I. He’s the best! 
AMERICAN BLACK FILM FESTIVAL (ABFF®)
The week and the summer is almost over. Please take time out to move around and enjoy the remainder of the summer safely. Many large, organized events have been canceled due to the global pandemic. However, many, such as The American Black Fim Festival (ABFF®) have moved to a virtual platform.

MISSION STATEMENT of the ABFF®
At the heart of the American Black Film Festival (ABFF), is its commitment to community, bringing together artists to share their work – challenging, encouraging, appreciating and uplifting one another.

FESTIVAL OVERVIEW
The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) is an annual event dedicated to recognizing black talent and showcasing quality film and television content by and about people of African descent. Dedicated to the belief that diverse artists deserve the same opportunities as their mainstream counterparts, ABFF founder Jeff Friday conceived the festival in 1997 as a vehicle to strengthen the black entertainment community by fostering resource sharing, education and artistic collaboration.

2020 ABFF ONLINE EDITION
In response to the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic and its disproportionate impact on communities of color, the 2020 ABFF will be held as a virtual event. Continuing the tradition of the live festival, ABFF Online Edition will include screenings, celebrity conversations, panels and business of entertainment seminars, along with virtual networking events. The 24th annual festival, ABFF Online Edition, will take place from Friday, August 21 through Sunday, August 30 and hosted on the abff.com website.
SUPPORT OUR LOCAL STUDENTS!   
WI-FI HOTSPOT and BACK PACK
(Stuffed with School Supplies) FUNDRAISER!
Do you know how it feels to be without the technology or technological tools to do your homework or work? Not everyone in our communities, especially our budding, brilliant students in certain neighborhoods, have access to a laptop, computer, chrome book, wi-fi, etc. to do their homework. My parents taught me that knowledge is power! Many youth in the Peekskill Community only have access to computers, etc. while attending classes at school or going to the Field Library. The Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc. team invites you to help us and others empower the students in the Peekskill Community to get access to the technological tools that they will need for the upcoming school year. Help the “Peekskill Technology Equity Community
Coalition” (PTECC) raise the necessary funds to make this happen!
These hard-working, community partners are fundraising to support the purchase of wi-fi hotspots for the school district to distribute to students. We share the goal of coordinating efforts to obtain resources from our contacts and opportunities to gather funds toward the goal of 300 to 400 wi-fi hotspots and 500 Back Packs (stuffed with school supplies). These items are very much needed for our student youths in the Peekskill community!

The partners of this coalition currently include:
  • Meghan Kelly of Peekskill NAACP Education Committee (She has been working diligently to lead and coordinate this effort.)
  • Sunny Cover of Peekskill Coffee House
  • Geoff Feder of Feder Knives
  • Chapman "Chappy" Manzer Manzer of Manzer landscaping
  • Marisa O'Leary of the Peekskill Parent Teaching Organization
  • Meghan Sheldon-Brungard of Peekskill Education Foundation
  • Tuesday McDonald of The City of Peekskill Youth Bureau
  • Kecia Palmer-Cousins of the Peekskill NAACP Civic Engagement/Economic Empowerment Committees,
  • The City of Peekskill Youth Bureau Board/Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc.
  • Mount Olivet Baptist Church

Please click here to see how you can help. Every little bit helps! Donate or make a purchase today! We encourage everyone to also distribute the flyer on their social media. We have a huge goal and tight timeline, August 26, 2020, to gather all funds by the end of this month. Everyone can do something.
As a member of The Peekskill NAACP, City of Peekskill Youth Bureau, Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc. and a proud mother two Peekskill HS teen-aged sons, I am an active community advocate for all of the youth in Peekskill. The youth are our future! On August 28, 2020, the City of Peekskill Youth Bureau will hold their Back to School Back Pack Event (Amazon Wishlist) at The City of Peekskill Youth Bureau (social distancing pick-up) to ensure that the local Peekskill Youth Bureau have the school supplies that they need in September.

Please donate today and help us reach our goal of giving out 500 Back Packs stuffed with school supplies to our youth! Kecia will also send personalized thank you cards to all those who make a donation to the Wi-fi hot spots and or the Back Pack effort if you let her know. Just email her at kecia@aerobasoul.com.  Please give today! 

As usual, tell them that Kecia sent you!

Let’s all help to create some happy, wonderful smiles on our youth as they prepare for the upcoming school year!

Happy Philanthropy Thursday from the Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc. Team! Visit our website today!

Sincerely,
Kecia and Kevin
Contact Kecia with questions about starting or
growing your business!

At Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc. we build dreams to life with heart and a soul! Like a trusted friend and confidante, our personal project managers tap into their vivid imaginations, hearts and souls to analyze clients projects and engineer solutions through project completion. We are “imagineers”, igniting M/WBEs to refocus on themselves, their businesses and giving back to their communities.  Our one-on-one technical assistance sessions and training programs are designed to help entrepreneurs and MWBE’s project manage their lives and get to the heart and soul of their personal and professional development. 

We “motivate” and “collaborate” with our clients through project completion! 

Our services include:
  • Business Management Consulting Services
  • Life Coaching
  • MWBE Consulting/Prepare NYC/NYS MWBE Certification Applications
  • Public Speaking
  • Project Management
  • Training
  • Career Preparation
  • Customer Service
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Leadership
  • Networking
Kecia Palmer-Cousins, MBA

Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc.

Office: 914.737.7237
Cell: 914.512.4373

Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc.