Lift Off For The Soup Haven was held Dec. 28, at CrossFit Function in the city.
This was the third annual Lift Off For The Soup Haven event.
“We have ran this event every December in conjunction with our December #CheckInForCharity promo also going to the Soup Haven as well,” explained Taryn Dubreuil owner of CrossFit Function. “Together, funds are raised for the Soup Haven, and we collect non-perishable food items as well. When everything is said and done, we make a trip to the Soup Haven to donate the money and food we had collected over the course of the month.”
In terms of background on the Check In For Charity promo Dubreuilsaid “
each month, for the past seven years, we have picked either a local or global charitable initiative that could benefit from the help of our CFF community.
“Every time one of our CFF members visits the gym, they check-in on Facebook.
“At the end of the month, we tally the insights and for each check-in, we donate 30.6 cents.”
Through the years various groups have been helped.
“We have contributed to the food bank, the pet shelters, different cancer initiatives, fundraising opportunities our members are doing to raise awareness, or to things like funds for books for kids at the nursery school or at Columbia School,” said Dubreuil. “We really have worked with so many different initiatives over seven years, donating almost $15,000 in total by the end of this year since we originally started in 2013. Not bad for a small local business.”
The project is one that builds over a period of time, added Dubreuil.
“The Lift Off For The Soup Haven is a unique event for our members because we spend six weeks working up to it,” she said. “Our members have three specific movements they are working diligently at over six weeks, with the culmination of their efforts being rewarded with a chance to hit a new Personal Record at the Lift Off.
“It’s a very exciting morning. A lot of smiles, a lot of joy, and a lot of camaraderie between the CFF community.
“It’s unique, and it’s very empowering.”
The other cool thing this year was one of the staff - Gayla Dionne - designed the shirts participants wore.
“She hand-drew this design, and another one of our members digitized it onto t-shirts,” said Dubreuil. “We sold these shirts and also contributed the profits to our overall donation to the Soup Haven we will be giving next week.
“It was a very cool chance to have a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork drawn by one of our staff in the form of a t-shirt; all for a great cause.”
Overall Dubreuil said the event was another great success.
“At the end of the day, we had about 35 people come out and lift with us,” she said.
“Each of them paid a fee to participate, those fees are donated in our overall total, and some also brought non-perishable food items with them as well.
“We drank coffee, lifted weights, and enjoyed raising funds for a great cause. It was our third year doing it, and won’t be the last.”
