I started working out at AFS in 2013 shortly after moving to Ann Arbor. When I asked people I had met where they worked out, it was always AFS. They told me it was a great workout and it was very social community: two things I desperately needed! After getting to know the wonderful people and experiencing the variety of workouts, I don’t know that I’ll ever leave AFS.
What I like about AFS is that you get out of it what you put in to it. At the beginning of each workout I always say to myself, “It’s only an hour out of your whole day; give it your all.” I try to make each workout as challenging as possible for myself so that I can feel like I really did something that day. The more tired I am at the end, the better!
Last year when AFS was raising money for six local charities, I approached Corbin to see if they had chosen a charity for the following year. I had just started working at Ozone House with their Marketing Team tearly 2016 and threw out the option of having Ozone House as the Charity for 2017.
That is when this great relationship between AFS and Ozone House began.
Shortly after talking about Ozone House with Corbin, several AFS team members came for a tour of Ozone House and I believe they all fell in love with our mission. Ozone House is committed to helping youth that are homeless or at-risk of being homeless lead safe, healthy and productive lives. There are over 1300 homeless youth identified in Washtenaw County that we wish to serve. In a year, we receive over 2000 calls on our crisis line and over 800 youth walk through our doors for support. The visiting AFS team was able to see our shelter for youth 10-17 years old, our volunteers working on our 24-hour crisis line, and counselors, therapists and case managers hard at work with clients–and as the only organization in Washtenaw County providing these services to youth, we are passionate about our community. AFS too has a passion-to-help mindset, so it seemed a natural relationship!
Since then AFS has worked with Ozone House through their charity program. We had our first charity class with AFS in March and raised over $1000 for the children and teenagers Ozone House serves! We’re so happy that we could find such a passionate and caring community in AFS. As the program continues to evolve, AFS and Ozone House will partner on many other community events such as dine and donates, pop-up workouts, lectures, and much more so that all members can learn more about such an important local non-profit.
Since we began this partnership…
…both Mike and Sawyer came to the Ozone House Drop-In Center in Ypsilanti to speak to youth about their careers and provide career advice. One AFS member is now a crisis line volunteer and another member has come for a tour and signed up to volunteer in a few different areas. AFS also coordinated with a member passionate about running to create Cardio for a Cause, a running training group for the Ann Arbor marathon with proceeds benefiting Ozone House. In addition, several AFS members have known about and supported Ozone House for years, further showcasing the kindness and caring nature of our combined communities.
In sum, I love coming to workout at AFS knowing that it is more than just a place to workout; it is also great group of people that care about the health of the people in their local community. If you’d like to make a donate to Ozone House, visit AFS’ front desk and they will take care of you. Thank you for reading about an organization I love and am passionate about!
Keep your eyes open for more events and to learn more about our relationship. For more information about Ozone House see www.ozonehouse.org.