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by Nicole Maue on Wednesday, 22 April 2020
In a time of uncertainty, it is easy to lose sight of the world beyond immediate difficulties. While many people are being forced to endure temporary hardships caused by the Global Pandemic, others are living a far worse reality with no end in sight.
Pediatric Cancer is the #1 disease killer of young people in the United States. A total of seven children die every day from cancer. With less than 4% of federal funding credited to pediatric cancer, there is very little support available to find a cure.
This inspired Omni Fight Club Livermore, to setup a Myzone MEPs Challenge to fundraise money in support of pediatric cancer. Omni Fight Club is comprised of a small group training atmosphere featuring 60-minute, no-contact, high-energy, cardio-boxing classes that push everyone through their paces, increasing intensity throughout and motivating members to take their fitness to the next level.
Owner of Omni Fight Club Livermore, Dennis Dumas, said, “We frequently raise money for a local charity, Unravel Pediatric Cancer, to help support a good cause everyone cares about, which helps to give our members a reason to fight that is bigger than themselves.”
Unravel is a nonprofit organization working to spread knowledge about the harsh realities of pediatric cancer and the devastating impact born out of a lack of funding. The organization supplies the information, tools and support to individuals and communities that want to help create change– because good people want to do good things, but sometimes, they need help getting started. All monies raised by and for Unravel go directly to the fight against pediatric cancer. For every dollar earned, Unravel donates approximately 80% directly to research to help fuel innovations to help find a cure to end the suffering.
With just north of 200 members actively competing in the Challenge, Omni Fight Club set a lofty goal to earn a total of 500,000 MEPs in just one month.
“Each person was competing for the most MEPs between our two Omni Fight Club facilities, with the overarching team goal of achieving 500,000 MEPs to guarantee a $1000 donation to Unravel,” said Dumas. “Setting a club goal that coincided with an individual winner goal took the challenge to the next level, everyone was contributing.”
There was no limitation on how members could train to participate in the Challenge, the only qualifier was that each member had to post their workout and tag the club on social media for their MEPs to count. In just over two weeks, Omni Fight Club crushed 400,000 MEPs before closing their doors to the public on March 16th due to COVID-19.
Refusing to miss a beat, Omni Fight Club went to work overnight to provide an at home virtual strategy that would keep their members active and enable them to hold each other accountable to earn the final 100,000 MEPs on their own, together.
“Our club has created a tight knit family community, connecting everyone through Unravel, which helps breathe healthy competition,” said Dumas. “Coaches talked about the challenge every day as a motivator while in club, and once we shut our doors, we encouraged our members to get it done as a community for Unravel, despite the tough times knowing families out there still have it tougher.”
The facility immediately started running two virtual classes each day through Zoom and Facebook in addition to a daily wellness call. Members were able to stay connected through the Myzone app and encourage each other to continue to earn #MEPsForTheKids, with some members going as far as achieving over 10,000 MEPs. Putting in the work, day-after-day took motivation and dedication. But combining a challenge with a charity created a new level of engagement that extends beyond just showing up for yourself.
“I want to extend a big thank you to Omni Fight Club for providing endless motivation this month with the MEPs Challenge for Unravel Pediatric Cancer,” said active member Julie Briggs. “My goal was 5,000 MEPs and I managed to achieve that goal as well as logging 106 miles of running with only 5 rest days for the month. In addition, I got some mileage in on my bike as well completed gym and at home workouts, all with a smile on my face knowing that it was all for the kids! Big thanks to all the coaches for continuing to inspire us during this challenge as well as throughout this challenging time we are all experiencing!”
Omni Fight Club may have been physically distant, although remained socially connected through the MEPs Challenge for Unravel, earning the last 100,000 MEPs together while at home, hitting their goal of 500,000 MEPs in one month. Tying fitness to a worthy cause that everyone wanted to support proved to be a strong motivator, keeping people connected and encouraging them to stay active. Omni Fight Club is proud to be uniting with their members to support Unravel pediatric cancer.