Get in shape while helping a good cause with Fit 4 A Cure
If you haven't found the courage to hit the gym just yet, but you need a good workout, then the online Fit 4 A Cure might be for you.
And you can contribute to a good cause while you're burning off those bread-baking calories.
Fit 4 A Cure was founded by Metea Valley High School juniors Zara Bahrainwala, Ananya Handa, Puja Teakulapalli and Alopi Shah. The teens all love to dance and found it is a great way to relieve stress and stay active.
While the lessons are free, the girls are asking for donations for the nonprofit Project C.U.R.E., which helps provide medical aid to Third World countries. Zara, Ananya and Puja have all volunteered at Project C.U.R.E and wanted to continue to help its mission to provide health care.
We spoke to the teens about their fundraiser.
Q: What is Fit 4 A Cure? Give a brief overview of what the organization does and who you serve.
A: Fit 4 A Cure is a student-led organization that aims to promote health through free virtual fitness and dance lessons. Especially during our current pandemic, we see the importance of staying active and to keep moving.
Our lessons are simple, so anyone can join them! They consist of simple workouts to burn some calories, steps, and to get you out of your seat. The co-founders, Zara Bahrainwala, Ananya Handa, Alopi Shah and Puja Teakulapalli, are raising money for a nonprofit organization called Project C.U.R.E., which provides medical supplies to Third World countries.
We believe that everyone should have access to adequate health care and that we all deserve to stay healthy, pandemic or no pandemic.
Q: Where do the majority of your donations come from?
A: A majority of our donations come from participants and anyone in the community who wants to donate. We are currently looking for sponsors that are willing to provide any amount of money or to provide us with giveaways to give to our participants.
Q: Tell us about your fundraiser. How does it work?
A: Through our Go Fund Me, we are collecting donations for Project C.U.R.E., which delivers lifesaving medical equipment and supplies to hospitals in Third World countries. The organization is focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and Ebola.
There are many other ways to get involved with Project C.U.R.E. They welcome volunteers to their local warehouses to help organize medical equipment and have volunteer abroad opportunities as well.
Anyone who has access to our Go Fund Me can simply press the donate button and donate whatever amount they would like. From there the money goes to Project CURE.
The GoFundMe link is gf.me/u/ymrkf3.
To learn more about Project C.U.R.E., visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajPTFkgmabE.
Q: How can people participate? Is there a cost, or just a donation?
A: Our virtual fitness and dance lessons are completely free. We have classes every other week (typically on the weekends). All ages are welcome and we offer multiple different dance styles, such as hip-hop, yoga, pop, contemporary, Bollywood, etc.
Make sure to keep checking our social media accounts to sign up for our classes. We release signup forms a week in advance.
Sign up by using Google forms on our website. From there, we send emails with Zoom links so you can participate. We do not require donations, but we greatly appreciate any amount. 100% of our proceeds go to Project C.U.R.E.
This is an ongoing fundraiser, with the goal to raise $1,000.
Our website is fit4acuree.wixsite.com/website.
Q: How can readers help if they can't participate in the event?
A: If readers can't participate, they can come in to watch, donate, and most certainly spread the word to their friends and family.
Q: What else would you like readers to know?
A: We are a student-led initiative aimed to promote health and fitness from Metea Valley High School in Aurora. Furthermore, we aim to make fitness enjoyable as well as raise awareness to organizations like Project C.U.R.E.
We the co-founders, Zara Bahrainwala, Ananya Handa, Alopi Shah, Puja Teakulapalli, and a group of 10 board members from all across the United States, are all involved in a sport and understand the importance of staying healthy and fit.
Together, we wanted to help others stay active during this pandemic and support the less fortunate.
Fit 4 A Cure
What: A student-led organization that aims to promote health through free virtual fitness and dance lessons
When: Every other week (typically on the weekends)
Cost: Free; donations appreciated for Project C.U.R.E., which provides medical supplies to Third World countries
Register: https://fit4acuree.wixsite.com/website
GoFundMe link: https://gf.me/u/ymrkf3
Project C.U.R.E: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajPTFkgmabE