"It just happened right around the corner from us and I think it was a good opportunity for all of us to come together and try to do something," CrossFit 580 Manager Joy Wilder told ABC7 News. The owner of the CrossFit in Brentwood came up with the idea. He's also a firefighter. "We wanted just to have something that we could give back to the family just as I hope someone would give back to my family," Matt Johnson said.
Everyone that works out Monday is encouraged to donate to a memorial fund for Youngstrom's family. They will also be doing a workout tailor-made with Youngstrom in mind. "We created a workout based upon his badge number and CHP line of duty death, and created a rep scheme similar to how we do things in CrossFit, and just want to dedicate this workout to him and his family," Johnson said.
Youngstrom was the 223rd CHP officer to die in the line of duty, so they are running two miles then doing 23 dead lifts. To honor his badge number of 18063, they will jump rope 180 times then do 63 pull-ups.
Zara Harding was supposed to take a rest day Monday but decided to push herself and work out in honor of Youngstrom. "My heart really goes out to Officer Youngstrom's family because he was a father of four and I have four children. And, just thinking of them going without a father, it just really touched my heart," she said.
The donation box at the gym in Livermore was full before even lunch time and the gyms planned to leave boxes out all day long at five different locations across the East Bay.
Donors can also go to any Wells Fargo branch in the Bay Area, mention his name to the teller, and ask that their donation be placed in the "Kenyon M. Youngstrom Memorial Fund."
Donations can also be made at any Mechanics Bank branch office, via mail or through a wire transfer. Click here for instructions.
