Fitness For Wishes 2022 – A Season of Giving

As the year comes to a close, and the festivities and vacations approach, most of us would be looking forward to a well-deserved break and spending time with family and friends. While it is definitely easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, let’s also remember to take this time to give back.

Here at vibefam, Fitness for Wishes (FFWISHES) is our annual tradition of giving back. Our yearly fundraiser promotes fitness for a cause, it’s an action-packed day filled with a range of fitness classes for the public, as well as booths and goodies for participants to enjoy all while giving back and making a difference. We also aim to foster a sense of community by bringing like-minded individuals together, doing what they enjoy the most.

How did FFWISHES come about 

Fitness for Wishes was the first event that vibefam organized since our launch in November 2020. That year, Singapore was still under the circuit breaker period, and gyms and studios were forced to suspend their operations. We organized FFWISHES as a virtual event for the boutique fitness community to get together for a good cause, during a trying period for the larger community. Despite being conducted over Zoom, we received positive responses from instructors and participants of the event. We decided to retain this fundraiser event as an opportunity for us to meet and connect with our growing community of platform users – which has grown to more than 5000 over the last 2 years. We also partnered with local businesses to host retail booths at the event last year, which provided a platform for these businesses to share their passion and craft with our participants.

Our beneficiary – Make A Wish 

Make-A-Wish Singapore is a children’s charity that grants the wishes of children 3 to 18 years old with critical illnesses. In 2022, Make-A-Wish celebrates 20 years of making children’s wishes come true, with a total of 1,800 wishes granted and many more to turn into reality.

Around this time of the year, Make-A-Wish also has their own festive fitness fundraiser. This year, they are holding a special edition of their month-long Santa Race for Wishes 2022. Walk, run or cycle to hit the goal of 40,075km while raising funds along the way.

vibefam’s first FFWISHES

Our first Fitness For Wishes was launched in 2020. Set to go live in the midst of the pandemic, FFWISHES started off its first iteration as a three-day virtual fitness escapade. Participants logged onto Zoom to enjoy a variety of 12 different classes to choose from in the comfort of their own homes.

A year later in 2021, the easing of restriction meant that FFWISHES was coming back as its first physical event! It was an action-packed event with the day starting bright and early with sessions ranging from Yoga to Muay Thai, led by 6 passionate instructors. That was not all, participants also got to roam around the space visiting booths ranging from delicious eats and buttery soft activewear courtesy of our generous sponsors. Our participants left the event energised from their workouts, with complimentary kombuchas and acai bowls in hand.

FFWISHES 2022

The past two FFW events were exciting firsts for vibefam, raising a total of $1,601 for Make-A-Wish Singapore. This year, vibefam has big goals for Fitness for Wishes 2022! Expecting a turnout of 50 to 80 participants, we hope to raise $1,000 for charity. The day will be filled with a good range of classes, from sweaty HIIT to beginners Muay Thai, a selection of food & retails booths and lucky draw prizes up for grabs.

vibefam has been extremely grateful for the support from our trainers and vendors who have volunteered their time and effort to make FFW happen, and allowing us to continue this yearly tradition of giving back this holiday season!

The takeaway

A sense of community is integral to a fitness studio’s success. As a studio, you have full creative control to plan the kind of event you would like in line with your studio’s mission.

Community-building events like FFWishes can be an impactful way to bring your fitness community together. These events can range from leaderboards and challenges within your fitness studio, to events for a good cause open to the public. They serve as valuable opportunities to retain current members while staying relevant and fostering genuine relationships with like-minded individuals.

This article was written by Liza Wee.