Do the Right Thing!
Tue, May 31, 2011 at 10:41 | Mia Coen
These clubs believe there’s more to life than the bottom line
“The responsibility of great companies is to find that balance between profitability, benevolence, and social conscience. Governments are not going to be able, around the world, to fulfill the needs of the people, and the gap between the haves and have-nots is growing…The consumer understands which companies, which products, have like-minded values to their own. And those companies that do the right thing will be rewarded…” —Howard Schultz, chairman and CEO, Starbucks Corporation
Health clubs certainly aren’t strangers to corporate responsibility. Armed with a seemingly endless array of equipment, programs, services, and professional skills and expertise, the industry’s practitioners are clearly qualified to help improve the lives of individuals, families, and entire communities.
But, beyond their day-to-day operations, many IHRSA facilities have launched initiatives or joined with charitable organizations in order to make an even stronger, more meaningful impact on society. In their quest to improve the circumstances of communities in need, many have become impressive role models of philanthropy. They’re doing so not because it will increase membership sales, or member retention, or bottom-line profitability, but, rather, simply, because it’s the right thing to do.
And, in their hearts, they, like Schultz, understand that there are rewards of other sorts.
Fifth Avenue Club: Ethiopian Outreach
The Fifth Avenue Club, a 15,500-square-foot facility with some 950 members in Calgary, Canada, has been making a big difference, both at home and abroad for years. (See “IHRSA-CBI Club Photo Competition,” March 2010 CBI, pg. 47). Since it opened in 1996, it’s developed a local reputation for being a premier health and fitness destination that sets the standard for “friendly, personalized service.” And, nearly 8,000 miles away in Ethiopia, it’s also known for supporting a sustainable development project that’s touched the lives of more than 36,000 people.
The club, owned and operated by Darren Kanwischer, has, for several years, been involved in a partnership with Food for the Hungry-Canada (FH), which provides a wide range of humanitarian services. Working with FH, Fifth Avenue has adopted Belo, a small agricultural village in central Ethiopia.
The club donates $3 per member, per month, which is then matched 300% by the Canadian government. These funds have been used, among other things, to teach residents how to dig wells and obtain potable water; construct agricultural nurseries for coffee crops; develop irrigation systems; and build and staff medical clinics. As a result, the families of Belo no longer struggle each day to meet their most basic economic, social, and spiritual needs.
“We’ve committed ourselves to supporting this project until 2012, when the community-development program is scheduled to be completed,” explains Kanwischer. He notes that, at that point, the village should be able to maintain a stable standard of living and provide for itself without further outside assistance.
In addition to its ongoing financial support, Fifth Avenue has conducted a number of special fundraisers for Belo, including a 5K/10K charity run in May 2008. That spring, when some of the club’s staff traveled to the village to meet members of the community and assess the project’s progress, they were welcomed with a similar 3K event staged by local residents.
“Going there and meeting the people was an eye-opening experience,” recalls Kanwischer. “We witnessed an overwhelming show of gratitude and appreciation from the people living in Belo.”
When Kanwischer and his staff returned to Belo this past November, they were pleased to find that new medical and veterinary clinics were about to open. The latter, which will be staffed by the government, will play a significant role in keeping the local livestock healthy.
Since June 2007, the Fifth Avenue Club has been able to raise approximately $154,000 for Belo. The club also conducted a series of team challenges, spin-a-thons, and other activities to raise an extra $15,800—$5,000 of which was earmarked to develop a new high school in Belo, which had never had one. “Before the high school was built, education didn’t continue past the eighth grade,” notes Kanwischer.
Healthworks: A Fitness Foundation
Since it was launched in 1977, the Healthworks Fitness Centers for Women (HFCW), now a five-facility chain, has become one of Greater Boston’s premier fitness providers. But founder Mark Harrington envisioned a broader, more inclusive, health club community, one centered on exercise and healthy lifestyles, that could meet the needs of the residents of low-income neighborhoods.
So, in 1998, Harrington founded the Healthworks Foundation, a nonprofit organization that’s dedicated to providing such areas with access to high-quality health and fitness opportunities to empower, educate, and enable women, allowing them to lead healthier, happier lives.
Today, the Healthworks Foundation operates two thriving nonprofit fitness centers in Dorchester, Massachusetts, a large and diverse neighborhood on the south side of Boston. HFCW is the foundation’s principal financial backer, but it also receives support from organizations such as the American Heart Association (AHA).
The foundation’s first location, Healthworks at St. Mary’s, opened in 2002 in the Uphams Corner neighborhood, and serves the St. Mary’s Center for Women and Children, which provides shelter to homeless and low-income women, pregnant teens, and young mothers. The modest 3,500-square-foot facility has a cardio section, a circuit-training and free-weight area, and, for those working out in its recently refurbished group-exercise studio, a spectacular panoramic view of Boston. Healthworks at St. Mary’s has served nearly 7,000 women since opening in 2002 and operational costs hover near $40,000 annually.
In 2009, the foundation entered into a partnership with the Codman Square Health Center to open Healthworks at Codman, in the Codman Square community. This site is nearly triple the size of the St. Mary’s location and represents a new approach in the fitness industry. It works directly with several community health centers, including Codman Square and the Dorchester House Multi-Service Center, and their medical providers to support patient health and chronic-disease prevention and treatment.
For instance, doctors from the centers can prescribe exercise to their patients to treat obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, or depression (or a combination thereof), and Healthworks at Codman will provide them with a free three-month membership.
Members of Healthworks at Codman are encouraged to utilize all of the resources available in the building, which is operated by Dotwell, the foundation’s social-service partner. Members pay a fee based on their income, but no member pays more than $30 per month. Members can also enroll their children in Physi-Kids, an after-school physical activity program that offers a refundable deposit of $5 per season for children with a body mass index (BMI) in the 95th percentile or higher. To assist single mothers, the center provides free childcare. Since opening in 2009, Healthworks at Codman has served roughly 3,500 women and children and is eager to expand its reach. Annual operational costs are approximately $200,000.00.
“In middle-income communities, there’s somehow an expectation that you’re going to have access to gyms, but, when you’re in a low-income community, that just doesn’t exist,” says Bill Walczak, the founder of the Codman Square Health Center, who helped create Healthworks at Codman. Now, thanks to the Healthworks Foundation, that’s changed.
Spring Fitness: Honoring Veterans
Spring Fitness seems, at first glance, like a fairly typical small regional chain scattered over the landscape northwest of Houston, Texas. Its three multipurpose facilities, averaging 11,000 square feet in size, are situated in Spring, Tomball, and Magnolia, and collectively serve some 6,000 people. Each boasts an attractive all-inclusive membership package, which encompasses aerobics, personal training, tanning, and childcare.
What differentiates the Spring Fitness centers from their competitors, including several big-box operations, is a charitable initiative that no other club in the area, and, conceivably, nationwide, is conducting. Last August, the company began offering free six-month memberships—no strings attached—to U.S. military veterans and active-duty personnel.
The idea was the collective brainchild of owner Tom Kennison; general manager Derek Terell; a hospital corpsman during Operation Desert Storm in 1991; and Spring Fitness staffers, most of whom have either served in the military or have family and friends who’ve also answered their nation’s call. The team launched the campaign to honor military personnel residing in their market, acknowledging and honoring their service and sacrifice, by opening the clubs’ doors to them for free.
The program got underway in a low-key way, with some roadside signs and a flier in a coupon booklet sent out in the mail. Now, some 100 veterans and active military men and women are making use of the gyms at no cost. Each pays a $35 processing fee when they sign up, but, beyond that, nothing, and Spring Fitness receives no tax benefit or other compensation.
“For clubs, the only downside is if you’re worried about money,” says Kennison, “but I’d encourage everyone to do this. With the six-month membership, our service men and women can use our facilities, stay in top shape, and not have to pay a single cent. In return, we feel good about giving them a place to come where they’re appreciated, and about being able to contribute something to their health and wellness.
“Even people who aren’t vets or in the military have found this program appealing,” notes Kennison. “They want to become members because they’re proud of what we’re doing.” About 70% of qualifying members who take advantage of the free six-month membership continue to pay regular membership dues after their has expired.
Spring Fitness, whose heart is apparently as big as, well, Texas, is also involved with the RBI Foundation, which supports youth baseball; participates in fundraisers for Susan G. Komen for the Cure; and hosts blood drives at each of its clubs twice a year to support the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center.
When asked how long he plans to continue offering the program for veterans, Kennison replies, without hesitation: “Forever. We’ll never stop.”
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