All Week Long
PFxPFA Syracuse Charity Week
Planet Fitness Dewitt has partnered with Project Fit America for a week-long fundraising event the first week of May.
PFxPFA Charity Week will raise money to sponsor a local under-funded Syracuse City School to participate in Project Fit America programs.
Planet Fitness
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One of the largest fitness club franchises by members and number of locations.
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Founded in 1992, it is now the nation’s fastest-growing fitness center franchise.
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Currently 2,039 clubs across the United States, Canada, Dominican Republic, Panama and Mexico.
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Four clubs in the Syracuse area: East Syracuse/Dewitt, Solvay, Salina and North Syracuse.
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Proclaims itself as a “Judgement Free Zone" that caters to novice and casual gym users.
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In 2020 Planet Fitness awarded $225,000 in scholarships to youth charities that promote a kinder and more inclusive world.
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Honored with Engage for Good’s 2017 Gold Halo Award in the social services category. The award recognizes Planet Fitness’ impact with its pro-kindness, anti-bullying initiative, The Judgement Free Generation™. The Halo Awards are North America’s highest honor in recognition of organizations that have taken action and positively affected their communities with effective social and cause marketing initiatives.
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Mission Statement: “Our Mission is to enhance people's lives by providing a high-quality fitness experience in a welcoming, non-intimidating environment, which we call the Judgement Free Zone®.”
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News Articles:
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Importance of Physical Education
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Childhood obesity has tripled since 1980. Over 20 million children are overweight by an average of 8.3 pounds.
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Nearly half the young people 12-21 years of age are not vigorously active, so every effort should be made to encourage schools to require daily physical education in each grade to promote physical activities that can be enjoyed throughout life.
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Washington Post Article: Effects of Childhood Obesity
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The lack of fitness and health awareness in children contributes to many problems cited by schoolteachers, such as low self-esteem, aggressive behavior which can disrupt classroom settings, and experimenting with unsafe diet practices which can lead to eating disorders.
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The CDC reports that physical activity also has brain-health benefits for school-aged children, including improved cognition and reduced symptoms of depression.
Event Details
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May 1-7, 2021 at Planet Fitness Dewitt
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A new daily charity fitness class every day that will be open to existing members and non-members
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Existing members pay $10 and non-members pay $20 to participate.
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Every day during the week members will be offered additional perks if they upgrade to the “Black Card” membership option. Half of the profits of all membership upgrades will be donated to PFA.
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Raffle tickets with a prize of a free year of membership. Members can buy unlimited tickets ($3 each) and all proceeds go to PFA. One winner will be drawn every day.
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Members can pay $5 to enter into daily competitions such as most miles run or heaviest bench press.
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A separate desk in the lobby will be used for raffle ticket sales, fitness class sign-ups and competition entries.
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A donation leaderboard with members’ names will be placed in the lobby and updated daily.
Benefits to Participants
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Partnership with a trusted national charity.
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The knowledge that you are participating in helping kids get fit, also acknowledgement of sponsorship at PFA schools and on the web.
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With most of our schools located in urban and poverty-stricken areas and the schools being the key to the future of the community, PFA is a community benefit that helps strengthen the community and meets the Foundation’s mission of creating healthier, more livable communities.
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Opportunity to see students’ achievement in PE through challenge charts, ribbons, certificates, and other various incentives school create.
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Unless the private sector adopts the public sector for this health issue there will continue to be an exacerbation of preventable health problems. Your funding of this project will make a measurable and permanent difference.
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The charity fitness classes will benefit Planet Fitness in recruiting new members.
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The raffle tickets benefit Planet Fitness customers with the incentive of a year of free membership.
Seven Days of Judgement Free Fun
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Day 1, Saturday, May 1, 2021:
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Class: Kickboxing (10:00 a.m.)
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Competition: Miles run (male and female division)
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Day 2, Sunday, May 2, 2021:
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Class: Zumba (6:30 p.m.)
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Competition: Heaviest squat (male and female division)
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Day 3, Monday, May 3, 2021:
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Class: Pilates (9:00 a.m.)
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Competition: Miles cycled (male and female division)
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Day 4, Tuesday, May 4, 2021:
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Class: Cardio HIIT (7:00 p.m.)
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Competition: Heaviest bench press (male and female division)
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Day 5, Wednesday, May 5, 2021:
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Class: Yoga Flow (9:00 a.m.)
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Competition: Most sit-ups (male and female division)
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Day 6: Thursday, May 6, 2021:
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Class: Barre (7:30 p.m.)
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Competition: Most pull-ups (male and female division)
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Day 7: Friday, May 7, 2021:
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TRX Sculpt (10:00 a.m.)
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Competition: Wackiest Tackiest Outfit (judged by staff)
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Local People of Note
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Matt McDonnell is the general manager of Planet Fitness Dewitt. He has lived in Central New York his whole life and graduated from Nottingham High School and LeMoyne College. He started at Planet Fitness as a sales representative and has been with the company for 11 years. He is married and has two young sons who attend LeMoyne Elementary School in the Syracuse City School District. He knows firsthand how local children would benefit from the PFA program.
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Quotable: “We are so excited for the opportunity to partner with Project Fit America. The impact we can have together on the community I love will impact the city for years to come.”
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Jaime Aliceais the superintendent of the Syracuse City School District. He has worked in the district for 33 years. He started as a teaching assistant then became a teacher at Seymour Elementary in 1983 and has since acted as Vice Principal at Dr. King School, and Principal at Seymour Elementary and Fowler High School. He is deeply invested in the success of the district. Mr. Alicea has been recognized as the Latino Educator of the Year by ANCLA, the Latino Educator by Nosotros Radio and has received the NAACP Community Service Award, the YWCA Academy of Diversity Achievers Award and more. He was recently recognized by Syracuse University with the Chancellor’s Citation for Public Education as an advocate and leader.
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Quotable: “Our district really struggles with funding additional opportunities for our students. Charitable donations like this can make a world of difference to the everyday lives of our students, many of whom have really tough home situations.”
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Sarah Brown is the New York representative for Project Fit America. She has helped successfully implement the program in 17 schools across the state. She is experienced as a liaison between PFA and health-conscious corporations. She earned a degree in Communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill but has lived in New York since graduating. She gave birth to her first child last year and children are her greatest passion.
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Quotable: “I’ve seen firsthand the difference our program makes at the grassroots level. I’m so excited to come to Syracuse and work with such a well-established corporation as Planet Fitness to make a real impact in the community up there.”
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Local Impact
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Syracuse has one of the nation’s highest poverty rates, with 30.5% of residents living below the poverty line
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Almost half of Syracuse’s children (44%) live in poverty, and poverty among the city’s black and Hispanic residents remains among the highest in the nation
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Because of the difficulty of taxation in a low-income city, approximately 75.1% ($249 million) of the Syracuse City School District’s General Fund Budget is from State Aid.
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Because of lack of funding, the school district simply does not have the capability to spend money on additional programming such as that which Project Fit America offers.
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The Syracuse City School District graduation rate is 64.5%.
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The Committee on Physical Activity and Physical Education in the School Environment has reported that single sessions of and long-term participation in physical activity improve cognitive performance and brain health. Children who participate in vigorous- or moderate-intensity physical activity benefit the most.
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Evidence suggests that increasing physical activity and physical fitness may improve academic performance and that time in the school day dedicated to recess, physical education class, and physical activity in the classroom may also facilitate academic performance.
Project Fit America
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Project Fit America is a national agency that works at the grassroots level with schools and front-line educators to create new opportunities for kids to be active, fit and healthy.
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Has donated to over 1000 schools in 400 cities and 46 states since 1990.
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Works with communities to bring in funding, equipment, teacher training, curricula, and the resources schools need to get fit and foster a love of movement.
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Programming includes supplying state-of-the-art outdoor fitness equipment and indoor mobile fitness equipment; providing lesson plan support materials for teachers and teacher training at the school site with a mentor; establishing a core curriculum with testing and evaluation; and continuing ongoing community outreach with the sponsor.
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Teachers report they see fantastic changes in both their students’ health and their attitudes towards fitness and healthy lifestyles.
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Majority of previous sponsors have been hospitals, healthcare agencies or health-conscious corporations.
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Mission statement: The PFA program is designed to be a permanent program in each school developed, as the need to get children fit will never diminish. PFA will work with your sponsorship to fully train the teaching staff and integrate the program in the school curriculum. At the end of the program, the school will be able to run PFA without any outside intervention. Your school(s) will join the other 1000+ PFA schools across the country that use PFA well beyond the two-year sponsorship as part of their regular school day activities. Years from now you will see PFA in action with your sponsored school!