Fitness for a Cause

Many people think of fitness as a chore or task, but in reality there are a lot of fitness activities that can be done in your community every week. Along with doing the physical activity, many people still help donate and support organizations helping a cause with the help of sports.

Since it is now October, many sports teams and organizations support the color pink and breast cancer awareness. A simple and easy physical activity I was able to do in order to express my support was the Especially for You walk in downtown Cedar Rapids. This walk is to help support breast cancer and always seems to bring a large crowd. The walk is a fun and easy way to do a physical activity with friends and family, and still support an important cause. We took an extra step at Kennedy High School by making a group of Happiness Inc. members get together and do the walk. This for sure made it worthwhile, and demonstrated how a single group can have an impact. We all did the 5k run, which turned out to be a fantastic turnout as thousands from around the area came out to support, and participate. This just shows how the use of fitness can help people in need, and how it can be used in a fun manner. Fitness isn't a hard thing. It really isn't. As long as you are actively trying your personal best, activities can be found anywhere.

Along with actively participating, many people also use sports to help support causes. I think this is an extremely cool concept, and is effective because so many people are involved in sports. The NFL especially does a lot with breast cancer because they paint the pink ribbon on the fields, and allow the teams to wear pink uniforms and equipment during October. This recognition of breast cancer makes a lot of viewers aware of what's going on, and also helps with the donation of money to different foundations. I think it is really cool that for a whole month the NFL uses their TV publicity to support this cause, and has phone lines so people can call in and donate while watching the games. Many other sports don't make this kind of effort or support as the NFL does, and I respect the sport of football for all that it does.

I think the use of fun recreational activity, and professional sports,  make one aware,  and fosters support and promotes awareness to major diseases is something truly special, and should be appreciated more than what they are. I also enjoy doing activities in the community that go towards helping a certain cause so I think that more walks or promotions should happen; allowing for more support to go to these foundations.