RVA likes to give. This spring and early summer, Richmonders dug deep into their closets and searched their garages for gently used sporting equipment as part of the annual AdvancedItUp! initiative.

Advanced Orthopaedics, a Richmond full-service orthopaedic practice featuring 10 separate “Centers of Excellence,” each focused on the treatment of one specific area of the body or one type of orthopaedic health concern, and Ortho On-Call, RVA’s first walk-in, urgent-care clinic designed to treat acute, orthopaedic-related injuries, is currently in the midst of their second annual AdvancedItUp! offering to the Richmond community. This community initiative is designed to increase recreation options and active living at home and school for area kids who do not have access to usable sports equipment. At the receiving end of the hard work is Greater Richmond Fit4Kids, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the health and wellness of children by increasing physical activity and promoting healthy eating.

Dedicated to making an impact firsthand, the physicians and staff from Advanced Orthopaedics and Ortho On-Call, along with volunteers from Fit4Kids, are collecting, organizing, and cleaning the equipment all month before the goods are distributed. The doctors and staff behind the AdvanceItUp! campaign turned their Advanced Orthopaedics locations on Shrader Road and St Francis Pavillion into collection points. In addition, the dedicated team offered the community the ability to drop off donations at their Ortho On-Call locations in Midlothian and Westbury. As a result, each location was recently filled with sporting equipment from across the region—ranging from soccer balls to tennis rackets and everything in between.

“Giving sporting equipment to children in Fit4Kids’ programs helps them adopt the healthy habits we teach and encourages them to lead an active lifestyle at home,” says Mary Dunne Stewart, executive director of Greater Richmond Fit4Kids. “Some of the equipment will also be donated to the physical education department of Richmond City Public Schools to supplement their efforts to promote a physically active lifestyle in their students.”