The gift of giving

A few months ago I took on the role of team captain for a fundraising event. The event, Spin4Kids, is hosted every year by GoodLife Fitness to help raise funds for the GoodLife Kids Foundation which helps provide support to local, regional and national programs in Canada that provide physical activity opportunities for kids. As a mom and lover of all fitness, I am passionate about keeping kids active and instilling strong values of health and wellness from an early age. I am fortunate that I can support my little girl’s activities and take pride in being able to lead by example; but unfortunately, not every child in Canada finds themselves in the same situation. AND this is why this event was so important for me to take part in.

My first goal was to recruit a team of 8 so I decided to hit up my regular BODYPUMP class members to join my team “Lina’s Pumpers”. What I found amazing was that only a couple of people that joined the team had ever done a spin class. While the team was eager to be part of the team and the event, they were a little apprehensive about trying something new. But being such committed athletes many of them went off on their own time to do a couple of spin classes before the event to ensure that they could participate to the fullest – got to love the passion!

Goal number two, as team captain was to ensure that our team reached our fundraising goal. I set a target and kept my team motivated to keep hustling and getting support from friends and family. Not only did our team reach our goal, we surpassed it by 50%!!

On the day of the event, the location of which the spin-a-thon was taking place was buzzing. There was energy in the air, energy of people knowing that they were taking part in something bigger than just a spin class. People knew that the fruit of their hard work in fundraising was going to make such a positive impact on the future of our nation’s children.

For me, I was full of gratitude and positivity. I had spent the past few months leading a team of wonderful individuals to a goal and then on the day of the event I witnessed the smiles on their faces as we peddled away for a great cause.

Giving back, whether its volunteering or fundraising can do so much for your soul. Knowing that you can help have a positive impact in someone’s life can have such an impact on your own life. Yes, life is busy and hectic and we may not have the extra time to volunteer on a regular basis, but ad-hoc, or once a year can be just as rewarding. My advice would be to find something that you are passionate about and find ways that you could support the cause. Even if it's only one day a year, once a year, it's something! I promise you, you won't be disappointed.

Lina