JP Management Services Provides $17,500 Check to Help Local Teens

Every year, Planet Fitness® franchisees give their time and donations to local organizations. In December, JP Management Services volunteered with Mission for Area People (MAP), an organization that provides Muskegon County, Michigan, residents with resources to meet basic needs. This was the first time the franchise group has volunteered with MAP.

Staff members of JP Management Services and MAP created a Teen Town, in which parents could shop and get wrapped presents for their teen children ages 15-18. MAP also serves younger children through programs such as Toys for Tots and The Salvation Army, but the organization realized it needed to do something for older children during the holidays as well.

Parents and guardians pre-registered for the Teen Town event. Each parent was assigned a volunteer to help them shop for up to four stocking stuffers, four gifts, gift cards and a blanket. The volunteers helped the parents with their gift selections and then helped them wrap the gifts.

For the stocking stuffers, parents were able to pick from items such as headphones, cologne, warm socks and hats. Gift options included electronics, sports equipment, board games and clothing, while gift cards offered were from McDonald’s, Amazon, GameStop and Kohl’s. Over 50 families were able to attend the event.

Kyle Schepel, regional manager for JP Management Services, volunteered for the day and was amazed by how much the company was able to give back to the teens in the local community.

“This was a great event, geared toward teenagers who are often overlooked by these types of gift-giving programs. The event was incredibly well organized by the MAP team, and we all truly enjoyed helping the parents with their selections and knowing we were filling a sorely missed niche in the community. I’m lucky to work for a company who every day looks for ways to give back to our communities,” said Schepel.

In addition to volunteering at this all-day event, JP Management Services presented MAP with a $17,500 check. This generous donation helped fulfill many of the wish list gifts for the Teen Town shopping experience.

“At JP Management Services, we feel an obligation to be philanthropic throughout the year, as it helps to build our relationships in the community, with our members, our prospective members, as well as brand awareness. Good people working with organizations that do good works reminds us to always have our giving hats on, not just during the holidays,” said JP Management Services Owner and operator Julian Monterosso.