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Leading gym, Ignite Fitness, has partnered with MENstruation Foundation led by Siv Ngesi and Marius Basson to fight Period Poverty this Mandela Day. With ten gyms in South Africa, Ignite Fitness will be hosting an OPEN MONTH the entire July with the Unity Challenge happening on 18 July at all the Ignite Fitness clubs. The primary goal is to collect sanitary pads for girls in South Africa. “In 2022, we collected 4000 pads in one week, imagine what we can do in one month!” says Global Marketing Manager for Ignite Fitness, Lauren Vanacore.
Members and non-members are all invited to attend training during this time period. “The more members we reach, the more sanitary products we are able to collect. Currently, 3 in 10 girls miss one week of school every month because they simply don’t have access to a basic human right – sanitary products! We want to try our best to do our part in making sure MENstruation is able to do the best job they can to help these girls.” adds Vanacore.
“It was an absolute no-brainer for us to get involved. We are incredibly proud to play host to this initiative and to act as the drop-off brick and mortars for this incredible campaign. We cannot wait to collect more sanitary products than in 2022!” says Schalk Hugo, CEO, and Founder of Ignite Fitness.
The MENstruation Foundation is a nonprofit organisation that fights period poverty and gives women dignity! Girls in South Africa miss school and stay at home because of menstruation. The culture of silence around menstruation limits the ability of women and girls to participate in society equally. It undermines their social status and self-esteem. “We give women the right to go to school, to play sports, go to work and participate in life despite not being able to afford sanitary products. The MENstruation Foundation strives to create free access to sanitary pads for young women during their menstrual cycle. Approximately 22 million South African women have their period every month, with around 35% choosing between a loaf of bread or a sanitary product. Over 4 million women in schools, varsities, and sports clinics miss education and training for an average of 5 days per month because of the lack of access to sanitary products. Period Poverty disempowers too many women in our society.” says Marius Basson, co-founder of the MENstruation Foundation.
The latest and most exciting initiative from MENstruation Foundation is their Sanitary Pad Vending Machine. Here, each schoolgirl receives one token that she can use to retrieve a pack of eight sanitary pads per month. “The more Sanitary pad Vending Machines we have available at schools, sanitary pads donated, and funds raised, the greater our opportunity to fight Period Poverty!” says Siv Ngesi.
On 18 July, in celebration of Madiba Day, Ignite Fitness will be hosting a Unity Challenge where members and non-members can partake – as a team of 2 – in the event and walk away winners. The winning team will have the opportunity to deliver the collected sanitary products alongside Siv and Marius, to these incredible young women. A prize not measured by ZAR but rather by the impact you have on those less fortunate – a lesson we can all be reminded off!
Ilana van Schalkwyk, Head of Fitness for Ignite Fitness explains the meaning of the Unity Challenge. “The Unity Challenge, unique to Ignite Fitness, has been created to highlight the importance of unity and collaboration in achieving common goals, just as Mandela advocated for unity among diverse communities in South Africa. Correlating a workout and hard work in the context of Mandela’s struggles and life can be done by drawing parallels between the physical and mental challenges faced in a workout and the adversity and perseverance demonstrated by Mandela throughout his life.”
The challenge will consist of 10 exercises, each with 67 reps. As a team of 2, the members will have to complete the entire challenge. The event itself will take place at 6:30am on 18 July, and again at 5:30pm on the same day.
The winning team will be announced on the same day!
If you have never been to Ignite Fitness, you can expect euphoric music, open spaces, and the latest equipment and lighting. So whether you opt for a morning, lunch or evening session – it’s always a vibe!
Ignite Fitness Gyms include:
- Cape Town, St. George’s Mall
- Claremont, Stadium on Main
- Somerset West
- Milnerton, Centre Point Mall
- Rosebank, Rosebank Mall
- Southgate
- Menlyn, Menlyn Park Shopping Centre
- Randburg
- Walmer
- Greenacres