Blog Posts

Taymax Group celebrated the holiday season by partnering with the Boys & Girls Club of Canada to host a holiday toy drive. During the month of December, 26 of Taymax’s clubs in Ontario and Atlantic coast of Canada participated in the donation drive. Toys donated ranged from dolls, board games, art supplies and clothing items.

It was the franchise group’s second year hosting the initiative in Canada, and once again, the group’s members worked hard to give back to the program. In total, there were approximately 200-250 toys donated across all Taymax’s participating clubs in the Canadian regions. Taymax donated the toys to 26 Boys & Girls Club locations across Canada.

“We truly appreciate the support Taymax provides to their local BGCA chapters, as this is the second year we have partnered with them across multiple locations to assist with bringing items and toys to local families in the area. Each year we are blown away by the support shown, and we truly appreciate the amount of support we received from the Planet Fitness^® members at all these locations,” said Manager, Stewardship & Gift In-Kind for BGC Canada Nicole Sanders.

Due to the success of the drive, Taymax plans on hosting a holiday toy drive in 2024 as well.

“My team and I look forward to the holiday toy drive every year because we know the immediate impact it can have on the local community, and our members are always so gracious with their donations. It’s become almost like a tradition in our club, and it makes me so proud to see the Burlington community support their local Boys & Girls Club. Great job to everyone who participated, and we appreciate all the donations provided,” said Shannon May, general manager at Taymax’s Burlington club.

For the first time, National Fitness Partners partnered with Happy Valley United, an organization that supports all 31 teams and the over 800 student athletes at Penn State. This partnership officially kicked off in January. Through the partnership, Penn State student-athletes will promote Planet Fitness^®’s affordable and accessible fitness experience through digital campaigns and in-person appearances.

Student-athletes will also support National Fitness Partners’ efforts to give back to local communities and players’ hometowns through its equipment donation program. In addition, Penn State student-athletes will help promote NFP’s Sack for a Cure campaign. Through this initiative, National Fitness Partners also pledges to donate $1,000 to Penn State THON, an organization fighting pediatric cancer, for every defensive sack at Penn State’s Beaver Stadium during the regular football season.

“We are excited to partner with Penn State student-athletes to bring our Judgement Free Zone^® to even more communities,” said Christine Smith, chief marketing officer at National Fitness Partners. “These student-athletes will have an opportunity to find organizations in their hometowns that can benefit from our state-of-the-art cardio and strength equipment for improved health and wellness.”

The partnership is an annual partnership. At the end of 2024, National Fitness Partners will evaluate if they want to renew their contract with Happy Valley United.

The holiday season is a time for giving and gratitude. The Monterosso Group got in the spirit at the 2023 Greenville Christmas Parade and Celebration in Greenville, Michigan, on Dec. 1.

Greenville Club Manager Rafael Nieto and Shift Lead Cypress Condon-Struble represented Planet Fitness^® at the event. They were there in uniform and were introduced by the local Chamber of Commerce as the sponsor for the event.

The Monterosso Group representatives weren’t the only people at the event, as Santa and Mrs. Claus and the Grinch also made an appearance. There was a free hot cocoa bar, as well as a bar crawl in the downtown Greenville Social District. Attendees were also able to shop for Christmas presents at the Tivoli Christmas Market.

The night ended with a flurry of activity with a Christmas parade and Christmas tree lighting at Tivoli Square. For the second consecutive year, Planet Fitness was able to flip the switch to turn on the 20-foot Christmas tree in the town, which is a town tradition. There were about 150-200 people in attendance to kick off the holiday season.

Grand Fitness ended 2023 strong by being the presenting sponsor of Rodney’s Rockin’ New Years Party at Virginia Commonwealth University on Dec. 30. There was a women’s basketball game and a men’s basketball game that day; the men’s VCU team played Gardner Webb University and the women’s VCU team faced the University of Massachusetts.

Planet Fitness^® brought both teams good luck, as both VCU teams won! It was Grand Fitness’s first time sponsoring the VCU Men’s Basketball team, and it was a huge success with 7,188 attendees at the event.

During the games, Grand Fitness offered many giveaways and prizes. The group gave away co-branded rally towels to the first 500 people to visit the PF^® booth. Additionally, they had a custom Planet Fitness/Virginia Commonwealth University basketball that was used as the game delivery ball. The basketball was signed by the entire team, and attendees could enter the raffle to win it! The game ball was presented by Dean Graham, the general manager of the Midlothian Planet Fitness club. Additionally, there was in-game signage promoting Planet Fitness.

Grand Fitness also hosted halftime games to increase crowd engagement and awareness of Planet Fitness. During the women’s game at halftime, they did a relay race with two teams of four. The winning team each won a free one-year PF Black Card membership. During the men’s game at halftime, they did a plank hold contest, in which various prizes were given out for first, second and third place.

Outside of the games, Planet Fitness received recognition on social media and within the official VCU sports app. After the games, there was a PF-branded photo area with Rodney the Ram, the mascot for VCU. Throughout the event, Grand Fitness and Planet Fitness got a lot of well-deserved recognition from fellow fitness fanatics in the region.

Graham raved about the New Years’ VCU game and how it was a great opportunity for Planet Fitness and Grand Fitness to interact with the community. “We had our spot right in front of the main entrance to the game, and the fans really enjoyed getting the rally towels, spinning the wheel for prizes and putting their names in the raffle for the game ball. We had a lot of people come by the table asking about promotions, but also kept checking in when we were doing the drawing for the game ball. Overall, the day went by really quickly, and it was fun to see our members at our club stop by to talk with us,” said Graham.

The cost of cooking a Thanksgiving meal can add up quickly. The Flynn Group, formerly known as Alder Partners, helped lessen the financial burden for its members by hosting its fifth annual Turkey Giveaway.

On Nov. 21, the event was held at Flynn Group’s West End Planet Fitness^® location in Atlanta, Georgia. All residents were invited to visit the club to get a free turkey. The MAJIC 107.5/97.5 local radio station team played music to keep people entertained while they waited to receive their Thanksgiving meal essential.

The next day, the franchise group continued its Thanksgiving generosity, as it held a turkey giveaway at its Wesley Chapel club in Decatur, Georgia. This was the first time the franchise group has held such an event at this location. The weather was rainy, but this did not stop people from showing up for the free giveaway.

The clubs’ team members, along with Colli Hawk, the mascot of the College Park Skyhawks, handed out complimentary birds to the community. A total of 500 frozen turkeys were distributed between both days, allowing for hundreds of families to be well-fed on Thanksgiving Day.

“This was our fifth year providing turkeys to the community at our West End location, and we ran out of turkeys in under 30 minutes. Some community members lined up hours before to make sure they can claim their free turkey, which can help eliminate some of the expenses they may endure during the holidays, so knowing that we contributed to making that possible for our community is a great feeling,” said Derrick Jones, regional manager at Flynn Group’s West End location in Atlanta.