Bringing health and wellness to city’s youth

For students like Rachel Ayiku, gyms and exercise classes aren’t easily accessible outside of school because of cost. When she heard about an opportunity to exercise at Level Up Glen Cove with the city’s Equal Opportunity Coalition, during the first class of its kind, she knew picking up a dumbbell would be a smart choice for her health.
“I didn’t know it was gonna be like this, I thought was just gonna be like a regular gym with treadmills everywhere,” the high school senior said. “In gym class we do activities, but we don’t do activities like this.”
Ayiku and a dozen of her peers not only lifted weights and used resistance bands for cardio, but the dozen youth also received personalized instruction from Nicole Helmus, owner of Level Up Glen Cove, a fitness and wellness studio, striving to transform into a beacon of hope for those yearning for healthier lifestyles. However, Helmus’ vision transcends the studio walls. In November 2023, she launched Level Up Glen Cove Cares, a non-profit arm dedicated to extending health and wellness services to marginalized communities.
Growing up in the Bronx, the journey toward health and wellness wasn’t always accessible for Helmus. Despite her passion for fitness, nutrition, and meditation, financial constraints often barred her from fitness centers and healthy eating that she sought. Determined to break the cycle of exclusion, Helmus, now a certified expert in fitness, yoga, meditation, wellness, social emotional learning, reiki, sound healing, and ayurveda, has embarked on a mission to empower youth with resources she didn’t receive as a teenager.
“As I’ve gotten older and learned about health and became certified in it, I wanted to give back to people who were in the same position as I was, who couldn’t afford to learn about being healthy,” Helmus said. “I always had a passion for fitness and being healthy with meditation and stuff like that. But I never could afford it and most of the gyms, they’re very expensive. The ones that aren’t expensive you’re basically on your own.”

Helmus’ commitment to youth empowerment is palpable. Her aspiration to hold weekly youth exercise sessions underscores her dedication to community enrichment; however, sustaining these sessions would requires donations to pay her fitness instructors.
Irma Jeanty, director of Glen Cove’s EOC program, said they offer workshops about nutrition but there’s a strong need for a fitness program.
“You could see the kids really enjoyed it,” Jeanty said. “And also, I could see how much they needed it. Although it was their first day, you could see some of them kind of struggled a little bit.”