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When Jesse Jarvis founded the Inspire & Propel Project fundraising campaign for nonprofits, he wanted to bring awareness to small, local charities to help grow their financial support in the community.
Jarvis turned his passion project into a reality when he officially launched the IPP last spring with Livermore-based Reins in Motion as its first beneficiary.
Reins in Motion is a nonprofit that offers therapeutic horseback riding to children and adults with disabilities as well as military veterans. For the past several months, IPP has hosted a series of fundraising events with proceeds going to Reins in Motion.
Jarvis told Livermore Vine that IPP's approach is to select a different local nonprofit each year to assist in raising money and increasing awareness over the course of a 12-month cycle.
IPP's focus is to support organizations that specialize in mental health, special needs and physical disabilities through events centered on fitness and wellness.
Previous events include a morning fitness workshop featuring bodyweight HIIT and yoga at McGrail Vineyards back in June and a roughly five-mile hike through Sycamore Grove Park with Anywhere Warrior in October.
IPP also partnered with the Dust Bowl Brewing Company Livermore location in November for a "Dine & Donate" event where a percentage of the day's sales at the brewery was donated to Reins in Motion.
According to Jarvis, IPP has raised approximately $5,000 for Reins in Motion so far.
Coming up later this month, IPP is set to host an open house event at Reins in Motion where attendees will tour the ranch and observe therapy sessions. There will also be activities for children and a hot cocoa bar. "The idea is for people to see what they are supporting when they attend an IPP event," Jarvis said.
An active duty member of the U.S. Coast Guard, Jarvis also has a connection to physical fitness as an indoor cycling instructor and is an advocate for mental health.
"No, I'm not the most fit or most in-shape person but my passion for the past few years has been health and wellness," Jarvis told Livermore Vine. "Big right now is mental health — everybody's mental health across the board — whether young or old, it doesn't matter. Mental health is so important right now especially coming out of COVID," he said.
Though Jarvis currently lives in Long Beach, he travels back up to the Tri-Valley for IPP events. His connection to the region has remained strong from the relationships he built during his time living in Livermore and teaching indoor cycling at a local fitness studio.
Jarvis said that no longer residing in the area makes things a little more difficult now but he relies heavily on his volunteer leadership committee for IPP, all of whom are local except one member — Jarvis' husband, James, who lives in Long Beach with him.
The Tri-Valley Nonprofit Alliance, also based in Livermore, is the fiscal sponsor for IPP, providing mentorship and support to IPP on its journey to eventually becoming a formal nonprofit.
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Looking ahead to the future, Jarvis said that he'd like to one day expand IPP into multiple states while continuing to concentrate on smaller communities to bring attention to lesser known nonprofit organizations across the country.
"It's all got to start small, no matter what it is, it's got to start within your own community," Jarvis said.
In the meantime, IPP's focus now is to continue supporting Reins in Motion through the end of its cycle. A new beneficiary for the next 12 months has not yet been selected.
The open house at Reins in Motion is set for Jan. 27 from 10 a.m. to noon. The event is rain or shine. Registration is currently full but the waitlist remains open via Eventbrite.
More information about IPP can be found by following @theinspireandpropelproject on Instagram.
