FITAID’s FITMAS Campaign Celebrate Gyms Who Use the Holidays to Build Community and Give Back
If you’re an affiliate owner, you know how a simple workout can create contagious energy and bring a community together.
Case in point: The 12 Days of Christmas, a crowd-pleasing workout that puts even a scrooge-like character into a good mood (after the workout is done, of course). No wonder it has become a tradition at affiliates around the world.
Many gym owners, however, go well beyond just a Christmas workout during the holidays, and year-after-year take the time and effort to use the holiday season to both make their communities stronger and to give back to the greater community.
In light of this, the popular drink brand FITAID, is using this FITMAS campaign once again to recognize these gyms by sharing stories of holiday traditions and giving back.
Here’s a look at four of them
Representing all the Festivities at Angel Oak CrossFit in Johns Island, South Carolina
“A Christmas tree and some strings of light just changes the whole dynamic of the gym,” said Megan Flora, who takes advantage of the holiday season each year to bring her community together in various ways.
Like many gyms, Flora’s gym does the famous 12 Days of Christmas WOD each year, but they have made it a tradition to create a new version each season to keep things fresh and exciting.
She also hosts an annual holiday party, where she rolls out fun contests—such as a charcuterie, cocktail or Christmas cookie contest—where members vote on the best cookie or cocktail of the party with CrossFit-style prizes for the winners, of course.
Disaster Relief Efforts at Halo Fitness Experience in Burke Virginia
Each year, Adam Waddell’s gym, Halo Fitness Experience, Home of CrossFit 703, raises money for a different charity. It’s something they started in 2019, when they raised $8,500 for a women’s shelter. A year later, they raised $20,000 for a charity that used their money to build two water wells in Africa, and last year, they raised $43,000 for Anti Human Trafficking International.
This year, Waddell’s gym chose Convoy of Hope, a disaster relief charity. Their fundraising, which Waddell says is “a team effort,” began way back in August and has been focused on putting together hygiene kits that could go to anyone from hurricane victims to refugees in Ukraine. Their efforts led their community to assemble 1,300 kits for the Convoy of Hope.
A Burpee Challenge in CrossFit Baar in Baar, Switzerland
What started as “a joke” that members of CrossFit Baar would never be able to do 10,000 burpees in a month, turned into a December reality for the community. And in true CrossFit fashion, they decided 10,000 was too low, so they upped the bar to 16,000.
“As you know, we CrossFitters are so competitive…and thought they would be able to do even more,” said Shani ten Siethoff. So far, 22 people have hit 14,500 and are working together to reach 16,000 before the end of December.
Food Bank Love at CrossFit Threefold in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania
For the second year in a row, CrossFit Threefold, run by Kate Carannante and Jared Miller, got their community together to assemble non-perishable food kits to donate to the food drive. In return, anyone who donates a food item receives a voucher for a free class they can give to a friend or family member interested in joining the gym.
Fundraising Marathon Row CrossFit Barrington in Lake Barrington, Illinois
Over in Illinois, Craig Niven’s gym, CrossFit Barrington, recently ran a Thanksgiving Team Marathon Row. One hundred people participated and were divided up into teams of four to six, with each team working together to complete 26.2 miles. Instead of a registration fee, each participant was asked to donate a food item to give to the local food pantry.
Not only did the event do something good for their community, but it was also a great community-building experience, Niven explained.
“The feeling and energy in the gym was amazing,” he said, adding that he’s definitely going to turn the marathon row challenge into an annual tradition at his gym.
“It was more than just a workout.”
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