(East Los Angeles, CA) [From The Editor’s Desk]: In mid-July, the Los Angeles Chargers most valuable running back, Austin Ekeler, in conjunction with his Austin Ekeler Foundation and several other major sponsors, including his team, made the Long Bech Poly High School Jackrabbits football teams, proud recipients of a renovated and now a “state-of-the-art” weight room with the unveiling of this special donation to their program.

Here is the Austin Ekeler Foundation’s recap of the event that describes the background on the July 14, 2023 event.

AUSTIN EKELER FOUNDATION, LONG BEACH POLYTECHNIC HIGH SCHOOL TO UNVEIL STATE-OF-THE-ART GYM

Long Beach Polytechnic High School unveiled the new state-of-the-art weight-lifting gym provided by the Austin Ekeler Foundation, with donations from Jurrell Casey’s The Casey Fund, JuJu Smith-Schuster’s The JuJu Foundation, the Los Angeles Chargers, Sonos, and Perform Better, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony and dedication. The new gym will include state-of-the-art equipment, sound systems, and flooring.

“Having access to the right resources is key to success, both on and off the field,” says Ekeler. “With support from Long Beach Poly alums Jurrell Casey and JuJu-Smith Schuster and other organizations in our community, we’re excited for students and student-athletes to have better facilities to work on being their best selves through wellness, nutrition and fitness.”

The Austin Ekeler Foundation was established during the 2020 NFL season based on Ekeler’s desire to give back to his community and help others succeed in their lives by providing reusable resources. The Long Beach Poly weight room project follows the Foundation’s 2021 unveiling of a new gym facility at Santa Barbara High School. Other projects the Foundation has spearheaded include donating football equipment to youth football programs, providing washers, dryers, and laundry detergent to 5 schools in Los Angeles, partnering with Adidas to provide essential items to women and children in need, and purchasing Amazon Wishlists for several Southern California elementary school teachers.

Long Beach Poly has been a part of the Long Beach community since 1895 as the city and school district’s flagship school. The current weight room building was constructed in the 1930’s and has remained unchanged since the 1990’s. Following the renovation, the weight room will serve 30 sports, 70 teams, and 1,700 student athletes, in addition to all 9th and 10th grade physical education classes and upper classmen taking strength and conditioning courses as electives.