Kiley Mutschler, a regional manager with Active Wellness, shares examples of community partnerships, how they benefit your club and member experience, and add value to your team.
Health clubs are an integral part of building healthy communities. If our role as operators is to improve our members’ quality of lives through programs and services, we need to look at community. When viewed as a whole person approach to health and wellness, a purposeful social component of community should be included in club services and programs.
Are you actively building relationships with other businesses and nonprofits in your community? If not, here are some examples of community partnerships, how they can benefit your club and member experience, and add value to your team members.
Building Relationships
Creating partnerships in the community takes effort. You have to put yourself out there to meet others, build relationships, and find brands and organizations you can trust. Community partners can range from local businesses that support a similar initiative and value you do and/or they can be nonprofits your team and members are passionate about.
For example, you can collaborate with a local medical practice or hospital that hosts monthly or quarterly educational lunch and learns for your members. Being able to provide easy access to information and education that would otherwise require additional appointments and time for both parties makes these relationships a win-win.
Additionally, a lot of your team and members care about social responsibility. They want to know they are part of something that is doing good. If you have a defined brand and your cause is clear, employees stay engaged and members will feel tied to the larger purpose.
Giving Back
Studies have shown people who give their money as a gift or for charity experience a significant boost in well-being than those who spend the money on themselves.
Create opportunities that allow your team and members to be part of giving back. This could be monetary but it could also be through donation of time. Depending on what community organization(s) you support, you can align to bring a charitable event to the club to gather more engagement with your members. Be sure to provide a seamless experience for all parties.
Having Fun
To make these community relationships successful, tie it into a fun event for your members and the community. Get creative with the marketing, giveaways and allow your team and members to engage in different ways than the standard day-to-day operations.
Promote a challenge around the cause. For example, trainers complete a certain number of burpees per number of food donated. Have members log treadmill miles for monetary donations, etc. You can also expand outside of the club and coordinate a volunteer activity. Commit a group to the local food bank to sort food or deliver meals, and/or walk the dogs in the local shelter for the afternoon. There are many ways to incorporate charity and fitness, and make it both fun and rewarding.
As human beings, we thrive off social interactions, and our community thrives when we all get involved to help make a difference. With the holiday season in full swing, ensure you are holding true to your values and find opportunities to serve your members and the community. Cheers!
“At the end of the day it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished… it’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.” – Denzel Washington
