Crown Fit Event

CROWN Fit is a community-centered fitness and give-back initiative rooted in movement, access, and dignity. Created as a way to celebrate National CROWN Day, the event centers on inclusion while addressing a very real and often-overlooked need: access to ethnic hair care products for women and girls navigating work, school, and daily life.

CROWN Fit was founded by Teela Maxwell, a long-time community wellness leader, MixxedFit National Master Trainer, and Supervisor of Recreation with KC Parks & Recreation. Through her work with the YMCA and KC Parks, Teela has spent years supporting unhoused and transitional populations. While assisting individuals and families with food, clothing, and basic necessities, one consistent gap became clear, ethnic hair care products were missing from available resources.

For women preparing for job interviews, returning to work, or simply showing up with confidence, and for their daughters attending daycare and school, hair care is not a luxury. It is part of dignity, identity, and readiness. CROWN Fit was created to help close that gap.

CROWN Fit blends high-energy dance fitness, community connection, and intentional giving. The event brings people together through movement while collecting ethnic hair care products that are redistributed to local organizations serving women and families.

The first CROWN Fit event launched in October 2024 and was hosted on-site, resulting in strong attendance, meaningful donations, and impactful partnerships, most notably with Rose Brooks and Hope City. was hosted on-site and resulted in strong attendance, meaningful donations, and impactful partnerships, most notably with Rose Brooks. The response from participants and partner organizations affirmed the need for this work and the importance of continuing it.

In 2025, the event intentionally shifted to align with National CROWN Day, expanding both its purpose and visibility. In 2026, CROWN Fit will take place on Saturday, July 4, 2026, and will be held at a new location, The Next Paige Studios (5930 Troost Ave, Kansas City, MO 64110), opening the event to an even broader audience beyond traditional recreation spaces. Hosting the event off-site allows this initiative to operate as a personally curated give-back platform while reducing logistical and liability constraints tied to municipal facilities.

This shift reflects the growth of the event and Teela’s continued commitment to expanding access, participation, and community reach.

MixxedFit is a People-Inspired Fitness Program founded in 2013 out of Tacoma, Washington. The program combines explosive dance movement with bodyweight toning and is rooted in the belief that fitness should be inclusive, accessible, and community-centered.

Teela Maxwell has been a MixxedFit Instructor since 2015 and has been teaching fitness since 2008, bringing nearly two decades of experience into classrooms, community spaces, and service-driven events. Her work with MixxedFit extends beyond instruction and training, it reflects a broader commitment to using fitness as a bridge to connection, confidence, and care.

Over the years, Kansas City MixxedFit leadership and instructors have supported and partnered with numerous community initiatives and organizations, including:

• Kidney Walk
• FOX 4 Love Fund Run
• Urban Community Connections
• Santa Shuffle
• Amethyst Place
• and countless others

These efforts reflect a shared understanding that fitness and wellness are universal and not limited to a class experience alone.

These efforts reflect a shared understanding that fitness and wellness extend far beyond the class experience, they live in how we show up for our communities.

CROWN Fit exists at the intersection of fitness, equity, and access. It recognizes that confidence, preparation, and self-care—especially for women and girls, require resources that are too often overlooked.

By combining movement with mission, CROWN Fit continues to grow as a platform for connection, awareness, and tangible impact—one donation, one class, and one community at a time.

There are several ways to support CROWN Fit and help expand its impact:

• Donate ethnic hair care products (oils, conditioners, styling products, brushes, bonnets, and accessories) to support women and girls preparing for work, school, and daily life.
• Attend the event and move with us! Participation helps raise awareness and visibility for the cause.
• Become a vendor or resource partner, especially if you represent a health, wellness, fashion, or community, based organization.
• Spread the word by sharing CROWN Fit within your networks and on social media.

Every contribution, big or small, helps ensure women and girls have access to the resources they need to show up with confidence and dignity.

Actively recruiting Health/ Wellness and Lifestyle Vendors.

Instructors from MO and KS come to support this amazing event.