By Mary Owen
Where to Start Fitness has taken on a new cause: charity boot camps.
“Charity boot camps are a fun new way to get a workout and raise money for local causes,” said Tirzah Hawkins, who owns the Stayton business with her husband, Daniel. “They vary in length and activities as it’s not just one type of group class but can be up to five different ones.”
Hawkins said the parties unite people for a common cause while doing something positive for themselves.
“It’s always exciting to find fun ways to bring people together to work out,” she said. “It would be fun to find a church or school group who wanted us to come in and lead a large workout party at their gym, building or even at a park.”
The couple’s first charity boot camp was to raise funds for Jason and Janci Burns, who were slated to leave for Papalote, Mexico on March 19 with a group of 22 from FootHills Church in Stayton. The group’s goal was to help complete a house for a local pastor and visit with children at the local migrant workers daycare.
“”We, our family of six, felt lead to be a part of this group in an effort to show Christ’s love to those in Mexico and to teach our children the importance of service,” said Burns, a Stayton native and mother of four children, ranging in ages 5-13. “Personally, my goal is to see my children learn to love, regardless of language barriers, to learn to serve, and to step outside of my own selfish self.”
However, just 40 hours before the family was set to leave, the trip was unexpectedly canceled.
“We received word that the migrant workers were striking against the land owners and that the climate is rather unstable, we were told to cancel our trip,” Burns said. “Although this was frustrating, the decision was made for our safety.”
Burns asked people to pray for the missionaries that live in the Baja area. Meanwhile, the group met to discuss future plans for rescheduling the mission trip and what to do with funds already raised.
“Even with only a four-day planning period, the boot camp helped bring in $230 for our trip,” Burns said. “I spread the word about the event to our friends and fellow church members in the area, and Tirzah reached out to her friends and gym members also. It was a great evening of socializing, burning off calories, and raising funds for a great cause. The generosity of Daniel and Tirzah, at Where to Start, was a blessing and helped us to reach above and beyond our financial goals.”
When putting together the parties, Hawkins asks her group class instructors if any are available to donate their time and lead a portion of the workout.
“This way we have many different workout types for variety,” she said. “We even had a local guest instructor at our last one who donated her time and helped invite!”
The events are suitable for all fitness levels, she added.
“All of the instructors show variations so you can work as hard or as lightly as you would like,” Hawkins said. “At our last one we had Turbo Kick, GroupFit, Pound and Zumba Fitness. It was broken up into five segments of 15 minutes with a few minutes break in between each instructor.”
Hawkins said anyone raising money for a cause can participate – school groups, local charities, nonprofits, churches and more.
“It’s our goal to have one of these a month,” she said. To schedule a camp or for information, call Daniel Hawkins at 503-949-9281 or Tirzah Hawkins at 503-798-3479.
