Chip Schwerzel and Jeff Carlson, the owners of MUV Fitness in Washington, are organizing donations for the Ukrainian Red Cross to provide relief in light of the invasion by Russia.
According to NPR, “over 1.5 million refugees from Ukraine have crossed into neighboring countries in what the U.N. calls the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.”
“Every day, we watch the news and see the pain of families being separated, while their young men go to war against trained Russian military to protect their homes, cities and country,” said Schwerzel, in a statement to local news station KXLY. “It’s just not right and they are suffering greatly, so we wanted to do something about it.”
Schwerzel and Carlson are making personal donations to the Ukrainian Red Cross, in addition to rallying support from the community. Through the end of March, monetary donations can be dropped off at one of four locations, and the group will donate a small percentage of new enrollment fees to the cause as well.
Participating locations throughout Spokane, Washington, include MUV North Spokane, MUV Downtown Spokane, MUV South Spokane and MUV Spokane Valley. All donations will go directly to the Ukrainian Red Cross.
According to Joel Tallman, the co-founder of MUV Fitness, the donations are a great example of the franchise’s commitment to community involvement — even if the cause, in this case, is outside the U.S.
“Our focus is to change and save lives in the communities we serve — in this case, outside of our community,” said Tallman.
