OUR STORY
What is Sips & Kicks?
Sips & Kicks is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to instilling positive eating habits and encouraging physical activity through smoothies & soccer.
Through freshly blended fruit and vegetable smoothies and soccer clinics, we empower children to make informed decisions regarding their nutrition and well-being.
Sips & Kicks partners with businesses, corporations and philanthropic individuals to give kids a head start at a healthy lifestyle.
Our 501(c)(3) status allows us to bring FREE “Sips” and “Kicks” to school children throughout the United States.
Through our Partner Program, we will connect local businesses, organizations and corporations interested in investing in the health and well being of children with the schools they attend.
how we came to be
On a 20-mile training run for the NYC Marathon, Chad Dictenberg and Andy Pada came up with the idea of Sips & Kicks. These two dads, linked through their sons friendship, were up in arms with the state of their boys’ diet.
They spent that run talking about their kids’ schedule of birthday parties and snacks. It was also clear that their boys shared a common distaste of fruits and vegetables and terrible eating habits.
That afternoon, Chad and Andy blended their first smoothie: kale, banana, pineapple, mango and ice.
That was it. The boys loved it.
Chad Dictenberg
Chad Dictenberg has dedicated his professional career and personal time to the well-being and personal development of kids. His passion lies in health and wellness and he has been inspired to focus his efforts exclusively on ensuring that all kids have access to healthy food options and physical fitness at their school.
For over 10 years, Chad taught Language Arts and English as a Second Language (ESL) in Jackson Heights, Queens. Chad successfully established programs that helped his students tap into their creativity as well as their physical and athletic potential.
He began a Tennis after-school program; he developed a filmmaking program that offered students the opportunity to write,
develop and produce their own feature length movie; and he was the driving force behind an international exchange program
that brought 50 inner-city students to Wales. After an extended leave to care for his own children, Chad resigned from public
school teaching to explore ways to bring his mission to a national footprint.
First, he co-founded Mack Daddies Smoothies, with nothing more than a blender and a cooler filled with fruit and vegetables. After perfecting some nutrient-filled smoothie recipes for his very picky son & friends he took to their school to make smoothies during lunch. This small idea has now grown to 5 blenders, a dedicated kitchen, and over 1,500 smoothies delivered to 12 schools in Bergen County, NJ each week. After so much positive feedback, Chad and his partner, Andy Pada, decided to ensure that a healthy smoothie could be available for all children. And so, The Sips and Kicks Foundation was born.
Sips & Kicks provides fresh smoothies and soccer clinics to students in under-privileged neighborhoods in New Jersey. This year Sip & Kicks is focused on taking this program national with the help of donations, grants and sponsors.
Chad completed his undergraduate studies at SUNY, Buffalo where he was a Division 1 soccer player. Post-graduate studies include a Masters Degree in Literacy from Touro College in New York City and additional studies focusing on early childhood development. Chad currently resides in Tenafly, NJ with his wife and 2 children.
Andy Pada
Chad Dictenberg has dedicated his professional career and personal time to the well-being and personal development of kids. His passion lies in health and wellness and he has been inspired to focus his efforts exclusively on ensuring that all kids have access to healthy food options and physical fitness at their school.
For over 10 years, Chad taught Language Arts and English as a Second Language (ESL) in Jackson Heights, Queens. Chad successfully established programs that helped his students tap into their creativity as well as their physical and athletic potential.
He began a Tennis after-school program; he developed a filmmaking program that offered students the opportunity to write,
develop and produce their own feature length movie; and he was the driving force behind an international exchange program
that brought 50 inner-city students to Wales. After an extended leave to care for his own children, Chad resigned from public
school teaching to explore ways to bring his mission to a national footprint.
First, he co-founded Mack Daddies Smoothies, with nothing more than a blender and a cooler filled with fruit and vegetables. After perfecting some nutrient-filled smoothie recipes for his very picky son & friends he took to their school to make smoothies during lunch. This small idea has now grown to 5 blenders, a dedicated kitchen, and over 1,500 smoothies delivered to 12 schools in Bergen County, NJ each week. After so much positive feedback, Chad and his partner, Andy Pada, decided to ensure that a healthy smoothie could be available for all children. And so, The Sips and Kicks Foundation was born.
Sips & Kicks provides fresh smoothies and soccer clinics to students in under-privileged neighborhoods in New Jersey. This year Sip & Kicks is focused on taking this program national with the help of donations, grants and sponsors.
Chad completed his undergraduate studies at SUNY, Buffalo where he was a Division 1 soccer player. Post-graduate studies include a Masters Degree in Literacy from Touro College in New York City and additional studies focusing on early childhood development. Chad currently resides in Tenafly, NJ with his wife and 2 children.
