Planet Fitness^® franchisees love to give back to the local community, especially to those in need. In August, about 13 members of National Fitness Partners’ support staff, general managers and area directors volunteered with Philabundance for about four hours. The group packed a little over 2,700 pounds of produce during their time volunteering.

Philabundance is a nonprofit food bank that helps people in the Philadelphia and Delaware Valley regions. The organization’s goal is to fight hunger and hopefully end hunger for good. National Fitness Partners always looks for ways to serve their communities. For the past several years, the franchise group has hosted food drives in all its locations and plans on doing so again in the future. Last year, the franchise group donated 20,000 pounds of canned goods to Philabundance. However, this was the first time that National Fitness Partners volunteered with the organization onsite, and it was a rewarding experience for the group.

“It was great to be a part of something big, something special. I was very grateful to be able to play a role in their mission and help the people of our community. Philabundance represents a lot of positivity and makes major impacts, so a big thank you to them for creating this opportunity for us to help,” Dan Zimmerman, area director of National Fitness Partners, said.

National Fitness Partners plans to volunteer onsite with Philabundance again at the end of September. The group hopes to make the volunteering partnership a quarterly initiative.

The franchise group has also given back to the community in other ways. The group currently has shoe donation boxes set up on behalf of Sneaker Impact, an organization that repurposes old shoes. Sneaker Impact also gives $1 for each pair of shoes donated to the charity of National Fitness Partners’ choice. So far through Sneaker Impact, the group has been able to collect 1,193 pairs of shoes and has donated $1,193 to the Boys & Girls Club of America. The shoe donation drive started in May and finished Aug. 31. They hope to host the Sneaker Impact drive each summer in their club locations.

National Fitness Partners also sponsors 5Ks, memorial golf outings and health and wellness fairs through organizations such as HEADstrong Foundation and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. To the franchisee group, any act of volunteering or giving back can go a long way to making a big impact on local communities.