How this public-school based nonprofit has made a difference for underserved kids in the Oregon community.
In 2022 Jessie Dudley-Rangel, a former elementary school teacher, decided to bring functional fitness programs directly to students in Oregon public schools.
Prior to that she co-owned a CrossFit affiliate that offered free memberships to students, but realized many of the kids she was trying to serve had trouble finding transportation to the gym.
So she decided to bring fitness to them.
The only problem was, she needed a name for her new nonprofit. She asked kids in her CrossFit program—a group of second graders—for ideas.
“I told them I wanted it to include the word ‘organization,’ and they suggested ‘organization of friends,’” Jessie said.
She thought it was a cute idea, so she brought it home to her husband and mother-in-law, who are both Mexican. They liked it, but suggested changing it to Spanish: Organización de amigos.
Jessie realized that was perfect.
“About 96 percent of our students are Latino,” Jessie said, “and many of them are bilingual.”
Even though she only speaks a bit of Spanish herself, Jessie wanted to make sure her nonprofit reflected that culture in her name. So the program—which brings boxes, barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, medicine balls, and jump ropes into schools for weekly workouts—became Organización de Amigos (AMIGOS).
Over the years, Jessie and her team have helped many kids discover the joy of fitness, but she said a story that sticks in her mind is one of the students who started when she was in second grade.
“She's in sixth grade now,” Jessie said, “and she's been doing CrossFit for four years in a row.”
Jessie remembers when the girl first started she was so shy she had a difficult time speaking up in class.
However, as time went on, Jessie saw the girl gain confidence. As her fitness improved, she became more talkative and outgoing. Soon, the girl was winning first place in the in-house competitions AMIGOS ran.
“And fast forward to last year, she voluntarily signed up to compete in a weightlifting competition that we put together as a fundraiser,” Jessie said.
Jessie said she thinks back to the shy, meek girl she met four years ago, and can’t believe how far she’s come. Now, Jessie said, her confidence has made her a leader.
“When she says something, everyone listens,” Jessie said, adding that when she watched her making a difficult lift at a recent weightlifting competition the look of confidence on the girl’s face brought Jessie to tears.
“It was so inspiring, and reiterated to me why we do this,” Jessie said.
When Jessie talks to the parents of the kids in her program, they tell her their kids love their time lifting barbells and swinging kettlebells.
“They love going to the classes and spending time with their coaches,” she said the parents tell her.
Going forward, Jessie plans to involve the parents even more. In 2025 they started a community event and engagement committee, which had parents involved in fun events for the kids, including a winter party.
“We're going to really build on that,” Jessie said.
One of the initiatives she has planned is a question-and-answer session for families once a quarter. In these sessions she plans to not only answer questions but find out how else can AMIGOS support their family.
“They are a part of this community too,” Jessie said.
In the upcoming year she also hopes to organize a nutrition seminar so she can help the families make the food in their homes as healthy as possible.
“It’s impressive how much they grow—from the first class to the last class,” said Jesus Andrade, one of AMIGOS’ coaches, about the kids in the program.
He said in the last couple of years it’s been really hard for kids to join teams because so many sports are club based.
“So if you don’t have the resources to afford that then your kids aren’t playing sports or having that social aspect,” Jesus said.
“The more time that I spend with the kids the more that I realize that it’s really important,” Jesus said about AMIGOS, “and how much it means to them and their families.”
About Author, Hilary Achauer