On Saturday, July 14, 2012 Snap Fitness was the presenting sponsor for the Make-A-Wish foundation’s “Walk for Wishes” fundraiser at Normandale Lake Park in Bloomington, Minn. Around 500 walkers, runners, volunteers, Make-A-Wish family members and Snap Fitness employees attended the event, showing their support for the Make-A-Wish foundation. The event raised around $100,000.
“Make-A-Wish is an organization that means a lot to me because of the selflessness of its mission,” explained Peter Taunton, the CEO of Snap Fitness. “I think it’s important that anyone who has been as fortunate as I’ve been in life ‘pay it forward,’ so to speak, by helping those in need.”
Currently, Snap Fitness has an ongoing Facebook promotion to further support the foundation. For every “like” Snap Fitness’ Facebook page receives, it will donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish foundation. Around $5,000 has been raised so far. “The reason we chose to do this campaign, as opposed to just writing out a check, was to raise awareness of Make-A-Wish and their mission with our members,” said Patrick Strait, the communications manager for Snap Fitness.
Snap Fitness is in the process of expanding its support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation to the national level. “Part of the decision centers around the fact that Make-A-Wish’s mission ties in very closely with Snap Fitness’ mission — which is to help improve people’s lives,” explained Taunton. “After having the chance to work locally with Make-A-Wish here in Minnesota, and seeing how enthusiastically our franchisees and even our staff members were to get involved, we felt that we could make even more of a difference if we broadened our reach to the rest of the country as well.”
According to Taunton, the sponsorship of the Make-A-Wish foundation feels like more of a partnership. “We could just write a check and call it a day, but to me it’s important that we get our clubs, franchise owners and members involved as well,” said Taunton. “I’m proud to help share the power of a wish, and look forward to supporting that mission and paying it forward in the future.”
By Rachel Zabonick
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
