The Armoury: Fitness Community Service Project

Beginning Fall of 2020, I was scheduled to take a six credit internship course for Kinesiology. Usually students align with a professional organization that corresponds to their interests, but in this unique semester, many of the internship opportunities were unavailable. So, with lots of guidance, and confidence in the experience gained from training the Workout Warriors, I took a leap of faith and started creating my own! Upon discussing options with my church, I was allocated space to build a mini gym. This unique ministry was designed to serve as a healthy resource for church members and a distinctive outreach into the community, while simultaneously fulfilling my educational requirements.

There was no shortage of obstacles during the creation of this mini-gym. I spent 15-20 hours a week for months searching for amazing deals on fitness equipment through Facebook Marketplace. I created a fundraising campaign (and then recreated it when the first was decommissioned), applied for several scholarships, and practically lived in the gym several nights cleaning, installing and restoring various equipment. However, had it not been for the invaluable help from so many friends, and family, donating their time, money and expertise, the Armoury would still be nothing more than a dream. I know that many of those people will be the ones that care enough to read this page, so from the bottom of my heart, I truly thank you. 

While the initial challenge was acquiring suitable space, the remaining obstacles are funding and time. As this gym will function as a ministry for the church, the goal is to continue operating with zero membership fees, leaving no obstacles for community members to get involved. Therefore, there are no funds to offset equipment costs except through fundraising and generous donors. If you feel led to give to this organization, know that the money will be carefully spent in forwarding the unique mission  of Fitness, Friendship and Faith in our gym. My hope is that we can provide an atmosphere that is valuable and unique in exercise function, while also fostering encouraging friendships along the way.