FITNESS
GIVE BACK TO MOVE FORWARD PROJECT: THE MOVEMENT
R
ecently I was undertak- ing some online research and stumbled upon an American search result that grabbed my atten- tion: ‘Charity-Driven
Gyms Are Popping Up All Over The Country.’ Gyms undertake acts of charity all the time, but these new gyms are different as charity is at the very heart of their business. The Movement, a new boutique fit- ness studio in New York City, US, operates according to the philosophy of ‘give back, move forward’ – enjoy- ing exercise while simultaneously helping others. It donates US$1 per person per class to The National Brain Tumour Society, not just for a few days, but every day of the year. It’s the first fitness business I’ve discovered that donates a portion of every single sale it makes.
How the studio started Jordan and Dana Canino are life- long athletes who envisioned a studio that would make a positive difference to the lives of others. However, their definition of ‘others’ is far wider than the customers who attend the hybrid cardio, strength and yoga classes at the 297sq m (3,200sq ft) facility. They wanted to create a place where people were not only changing their own lives, but the lives of others.
Deeply embedded charity When a business aligns with a char- ity, there should be a compelling story behind the partnership. In the US, according to the National Center for Charitable Statistics, there are more than 1.5 million non-profit organisa- tions. Many are worthy of support – so why did The Movement select The National Brain Tumour Society (NBTS) as its charity partner? According to the NBTS, 700,000 Americans are living with a primary brain tumour and 69,000 more will be diagnosed this year. In my research, I
ISSUE 4 2014 © cybertrek 2014 IN A NUTSHELL
Initiative by: The Movement –
www.themovementfitness.com Location: New York, US Project status: Ongoing Impact: National Gymtopia keywords: Environment, Education, Health & Wellbeing, Medical Research
boutique studios regularly popping up, so for a small studio only open since May 2014, it’s already gen- erating quite a media buzz. ‘The Movement Ignites a Charitable Fitness Revolution’, ‘The Rise of Charity Driven Gyms’, ‘Five
Fitness Studios That Give Back’ are headlines that show how its philosophy has captured attention. The studio is currently only operat- ing 30 classes a week, yet this already translates into a donation to the NBTS of US$1,000 a month. When they reach 56–70 classes a week, then donations are expected to double.
Jordan and Dana Canino founded a US fitness business that donates money to charity every time a person attends a class
discovered Andrea Canino, Jordan’s mother, died of a brain tumour when he was just 18. This was a deeply personal cause, giving purpose and meaning to The Movement. “Our hope is to start a true move- ment: when you give back, you’re enabling yourself to move forward. It motivates people not only to go to a class and get their sweat on, but to help fight a terrible disease,” he says.
Impact to date
IHRSA data suggests there are more than 30,500 gyms across the US, with
I dedicate this workout to… I read an article about The Movement written by Heidi Kristoffer, a highly rated American yoga instructor. In the article, she recalled a com- ment made by an instructor during a class she had attended at another gym: “If you feel like you can’t do it for yourself, do it for someone else who needs this more than you do.” Kristoffer found the idea of mentally dedicating her workout to someone other than herself a very powerful con- cept. Now imagine this being amplified by everyone else in the class, across all classes, every day of the year. “Sometimes we need to do things for
ourselves, but often the power of doing something with the intention of helping the greater good, or just one other per- son, can be life-changing,” she wrote.
Read Leisure Management online
leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital 41
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