Toys For Tots Benefit From BodyShop’s Kid Fit-Mas.

On December 4^th, BodyShop Group Fitness held their Kid Fit-Mas event at their space in the Creekside Commons at 324 Wampum Ave.

The event was attended by over 30 children from the ages of 1-10 years old.

The owners of the fitness studio set up obstacle courses requiring the children to complete circuits of exercises including jumps, push-ups, crunches, hula hooping, running, and climbing.

The event started off with warm-up, proceeded to a few rounds of the obstacle courses, and settled down with a cool-down and stretch before turning into an all-out dance party for the kids (and a few of the adults).

While snacks were enjoyed, Santa, himself, made a surprise visit and encouraged everyone to come get their picture taken with him. The kids were able to sit on Santa’s lap, tell him their wishes for Christmas, and get an additional treat directly from Santa’s bag.

“The purpose of the event is two-fold,” said Debbie VanGorder, one of the owners of The BodyShop. “We have the chance to get kids up and moving, having fun while exercising as well as raise resources for a great charity.”

And raise resources, they did.   The large four-foot tall box provided by Toys For Tots didn’t come close to containing all the toys donated by the participants and BodyShop members.  The objectives of Toys for Tots are to help less fortunate children throughout the United States experience the joy of Christmas; to play an active role in the development of one of our nation’s most valuable resources – our children; to unite all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign; and to contribute to better communities in the future (from Toys For Tots website).

“As a local business, our main goal is to build a stronger, healthier community.  Our classes are obviously designed for adults, but our hope is that leading an active lifestyle will be picked up by the next generation, and the one after that, and the one after that.”

BodyShop Group Fitness specializes in group fitness classes, designed by the world-renown fitness company, Les Mills.  They offer licensed, certified instruction in BODYPUMP, BODYSTEP, BODYCOMBAT, BODYVIVE, BODYJAM, and CXWORX.  Descriptions of all the classes as well as the schedule can be found on their Facebook page or by calling 724-752-4351.   Any first time visitors are welcome to try all of their classes for free.  Currently they are also offering a special fitness gift package with the purchase of a gift certificate and preparing to launch the 100^th release of BODYPUMP on January 14, 2017 as part of a worldwide event.

All photos submitted.