What Is a Gym to Dorchester Academy? Hope (ESPN Rise Up)

Published: Santa Ana, Calif., June 7, 2011

ESPN’s “Rise Up” is a show about four small town schools getting as second chance at a new beginning. ESPN is the worldwide leader in sports. Now you can call them the worldwide leader in restoring hope to a hopeless situation. In this four-episode mini-series, the “Rise Up” crew comes to the rescue of teachers, coaches and students struggling to be competitive in extremely poor economical times.

In this video ESPN asks for Rubber-Cal’s help in breathing life back into the weight room and gym at Dorchester Academy. Years of neglect and lack of funding have left the athletic facilities is need of replacement or repair. With the odds stacked against them and ESPN on their side, Dorchester Academy receives a world-class makeover they can be proud of and more importantly, a brighter outlook on life.

Getting this school back in shape would require more than a quick coat of new paint. ESPN and “Rise Up” had to start from the ground up. To make the floor-to-ceiling makeover complete, ESPN reached out to the Rubber-Cal rubber flooring company for help.

The “Rise Up” crew used Rubber-Cal’s Zcycle rubber exercise flooring and Puzzle-Lock gym puzzle mats. The Dorchester Academy was in for a real treat. Each rubber flooring option will provide the student athletes with more than enough support and cushion for long intensive workouts. The recycled rubber floor mats are sturdy enough to protect heavy fitness equipment, but pliable enough to save joints and muscles from debilitating shock. By using high quality rubber exercise flooring mats made from old car tires, ESPN gave the school new rubber floor mats and gym puzzle mats that will be around long after each and every one of them had graduated.

When “Rise Up” arrived, the school was in a state of extreme neglect. Dorchester Academy echoed its struggling surrounds. That has all changed now and the school can now be looked to as a beacon of hope. Rubber-Cal is proud to have been able to play a role in the schools drastic transformation. Now the students of the once dilapidated Boston area can proudly call Dorchester home.