My name is Lauren Ring,

4 years ago I headed to the Shanghai Orphanage in China, with my parents and two brothers, to meet our new sister Anna.  At that time I was in the sixth grade and jump roping for my elementary school’s jump rope team. I thought it would be a good idea to take along some jump ropes to share with the kids as a fun activity, assuming they would know how to use them. Upon showing them the ropes, none of the kids had ever seen a rope let alone used one. I began to teach them how to jump. They were very slow to pick up the basic movements due to a lack of coordination and balance. To see young kids struggling with something as simple as jumping rope was extremely hard. I then decided that providing jump roping to orphans around the world would benefit so many of these young children who have limited access to practiced exercise.  I teamed up with World Champion – Jump rope extraordinaire, Adrienn Banhegyi to help me with this journey and I started Ropes for Hopes.

My nonprofit charity, Ropes for Hopes, is an organization dedicated to promoting exercise and fun for orphans around the world through jump roping. At Ropes For Hopes our goal is to help orphans and less fortunate children have access to exercise in a practical, inexpensive way. It is estimated there are 153 million orphans worldwide.  Many have little access to practiced physical activities.  It is a scientific fact that participating in physical activity will help improve motor skills, strength, happiness and health.  Jump ropes is also an inexpensive option and easy to store. They are the perfect way for kids to build coordination, muscle and self-confidence while having fun.

Currently we are collecting jump ropes. Recently, we held an event at Kutz Elementary School, the school I had previously attended.  I coordinated a rope collection contest with the staff and students. The school collected almost five hundred ropes! Another way we are collecting ropes is by placing donation baskets in various business locations.

So far we have found homes for our jump ropes in China, Vietnam and Haiti.  We are hoping to send ropes to other countries soon.

Our long-term goal is to provide ropes to orphans and assist in training staff/caregivers to ensure continued jump rope activity. We are looking for more partnerships from adoption agencies, orphanages, and missionary trip coordinators to help us secure homes for our ropes. 

Visit us at www.ropesforhopes.org to learn how you can help.  If you are interested in receiving donated jump ropes, we would love to hear from you.

Happy Jumping…………..Lauren