Working a full-time job and giving back to the community can be hard, but this hasn’t stopped Tony Silvas, a regional manager with Cambridge Fitness. He has worked with a nonprofit organization, Employment Collaborative, in Cuyohoga County in Ohio to help find job opportunities for people with disabilities.

Silvas is a financial supporter of the organization and helps guide the nonprofit on how to engage and work with businesses. He also assists each Planet Fitness^® location under his supervision in hiring, onboarding and training people with disabilities.

Thanks to Silvas, Planet Fitness was one of the founding sponsors with this organization. Planet Fitness has given $2,500 to the ECCC for the last five years to help them put on hiring events that connect job seekers with disabilities to employers in the area. This year, PF^® increased that amount to $5,000.

For the past five years, Silvas has not missed a single event, fundraiser or interview workshop for the nonprofit organization. His hard work has not gone without notice! In 2022, Silvas received the Community Partner Legacy Award at the ECCC awards banquet at the Westin in downtown Cleveland. Jared Daly, executive director of the ECCC, nominated Silvas for the award for his work advocating and supporting the hiring of individuals with disabilities and barriers to employment.

“Tony recognized the benefit of hiring people with disabilities and how the ECCC could help businesses come to the same conclusion. He supported us both financially and through advocacy work. We wouldn’t be here today without Tony’s support,” Daly said.

Silvas was selected over 10 other nominees for the Community Partner Legacy Award. This was the first-ever awards banquet the ECCC has done.

At the awards ceremony, Silvas said, “As business leaders, we have an opportunity to change the hiring culture. In return, we can positively impact the lives of individuals with disabilities and barriers. Seeing people grow personally and professionally is my ‘why’ behind it all.”