By: Shaya Rogers, Staff Reporter
Fit &Give is a not-for-profit program that will help students and members of the community reach their weight loss goals, while collecting money for Joy Junction.
Participants will meet in the Student Resource Center on Main Campus on Feb. 1 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. to begin the 12-week program.
“I’m hosting a fitness and weight loss challenge and it’s similar to a Walkathon. Per pound lost, people will give pledges,” she said.
Joy Junction’s recent laundry room fire destroyed many items consider vitally important to the success of the people served, she said.
Participants will ask for pledges from friends and family in order to purchase items lost in the fire.
“I’m not sure how the fire started, but it destroyed all of their washers and dryers, so they’re having a hard time providing blankets to the homeless,” she said.
A representative from Joy Junction declined comment because paperwork for the donation is still in process, but said they always welcome donations.
Deciding to donate to Joy Junction was easy for Barrows, who thinks the idea of eating less iso others can eat more is a great concept, she said.
The program gives participants the ability to choose the best way to lose weight, whether that means a specific exercise routine or diet plan, she said.
“We’ll have meetings once a week that will incorporate different exercises. One of my friends was a cheerleader for 15 years, so she’s going to incorporate a dance that we could all do together,” she said.
There will also be other elements including personal trainers and motivational goodies, she said.
“We’ll have a lot of prizes to keep people focused and motivated. We bought a bunch, so far, that are work out related to help people achieve their goals,” she said.
The program is open to anyone who wants to get involved, she said.
“It’s open to anybody, as long as they’re willing to get fit and get some pledges to help out charity,” she said.
Barrows realizes the challenges people face when dealing with weight loss and has similar reasons for wanting to get healthy, she said.
“I used to be really fit and I’ve had some devastation in my life and I know people go through those problems which causes them to gain the weight or not be as fit as they used to, so it brings them down,” she said.
Helping the community and helping inspire one another is something that makes this program different from others, she said.
“There’s a quote by Helen Keller that I am using forever. It’s, ‘Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.’ That’s the whole idea of this group getting together and supporting each other while helping out the unfortunate,” she said.
Sponsors include L.A. Boxing, The Outpost Ice Skating Rink, Massage Envy and rock climbing gym Stone Age, she said.
Students, staff and faculty wishing to participate in Fit & Give can contact Barrows at fitngive@ gmail.com or like the Facebook page Fit & Give.
