On Wednesday, July 13, Planet Fitness Growth Partners hosted a day full of fun activities, complete with healthy smoothies from Smoothie King. At all five of our Baltimore City Clubs, fitness trainers led members through nearly an hour of active and exciting games, including tug of war, basketball, and dodgeball. Lead Youth Development Coordinator Brandon Clayton believed the event helped “get kids excited to exercise and just have fun.” At Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore (BGCMB), sports and recreation is an important pillar in our programming, as it’s often through FUN that we can most effectively build young people’s capacity to stay active and live a healthy lifestyle.
With the excitement of some friendly competition, members worked hard to plan winning strategies. During tug of war, members decided their order along the rope and how spaced out each of them should be. Despite some close games, the teams that were most evenly spaced along the rope proved to have the most effective strategy. Quintin Dailey, Fitness Training Support Manager and leader of the team that coordinated Planet Fitness Day, said that he focused his activities on teaching members “social and emotional skills,” and more specifically, “learning to work together - teamwork.” Quintin and his team also emphasized the importance of sportsmanship and fairness throughout the day. Once the games were over, members were able to refuel with delicious smoothies thanks to the support of Ro and Tiana Burnett from Smoothie King Eldersburg/Westminster/Timonium.
Club members had a blast during the event. For Terry, 11, his favorite part of the day was “dodgeball to see who runs fast and who has good arm strength.” Azariah, 11, was also definitive that dodgeball was his favorite activity. The Club staff had a good time playing with the kids and enjoyed seeing which games the members had fun playing. After the event, Clayton thought that the day was important to “help kids when they want a fun workout” and teach them “about how to live a healthy lifestyle.”
Planet Fitness is a national partner of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and BGCMB is fortunate to have strong support from a local franchise, Planet Fitness Growth Partners. Justin Drummond, Chief Operating Officer, serves on our board of directors and Dailey is a familiar face at our Webster Kendrick Club.
For more on our healthy lifestyle programming, visit here.