While Acrofitness is usually the familiar group of tumblers and ninjas spreading the message that fitness is fun, it also recognizes that not all kids enjoy great health or the ability to freely move their bodies. And in those cases, it finds ways to help.
This year, Mooresville’s Acrofitness is hosting its popular “Fit-a-thon” — 10 hours of fitness classes over two evenings — to raise money for Hayleigh Canada, a local four-year-old who has battled leukemia since being diagnosed in 2022.
“At Acrofitness, we want to not only promote healthy lifestyles but also give back to our community,” said Acrofitness Founder and Owner Marie Severance. “Because so many of us have lost members of our family to cancer, and we have many others battling it, our fundraising efforts for the Fit-a-thon are very near and dear to our hearts.”
Acrofitness is extending invitations to the greater community to participate in this year’s Fit-a-thons. “The more, the merrier!” Severance said.
The 2024 Fit-a-thons will be held on March 22 and April 12 from 5-10 p.m. Classes are $10 each, and Acrofitness encourages participants to raise entry fees by collecting pledges from friends and family; 100 percent of the donations will go to Hayleigh’s single-income family to help with crippling medical expenses.Â
Any participant who raises $100 will be provided a commemorative 2024 Fit-a-thon t-shirt sponsored by community businesses. Interested in sponsoring? Act fast! For a $100 sponsorship, business names will be featured on the back of the 2024 Fit-a-thon t-shirt, in Acrofitness’s May newsletter and on the big screen at Acro’s end-of-year recital!
All money raised beyond the cost of the shirts will be donated to Hayleigh’s family.
Every year, Acrofitness partners with Sweet Frog in Mooresville to raise money for a local child with a medical need. The annual “Fit Frog Fair” — the culmination of this year’s Acrofitness fundraisers for Hayleigh — will be held May 18 at Sweet Frog, 168 G Norman Station Blvd. Acrofitness teams will perform, and Sweet Frog will donate a portion of proceeds from its sales that day to Hayleigh’s family.Â
Hayleigh will turn five years old in May. She’s been fighting cancer since just after she turned three.Â
In July 2022, Hayleigh began running random fevers with no other symptoms. After chasing the problem with different pediatricians for a few months, Hayleigh was diagnosed on Halloween that year with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and sent for direct admission to Brenner Children’s Hospital in Winston Salem.Â
Follow Hayleigh’s journey on Facebook: Healing Hands for Hayleigh. Find the family’s GoFundMe here. Donations can also be sent to the family through Cash App at $susancanada0416 or Venmo @canada0416.
Checks for the t-shirt sponsorship can be made out to Studio 202 and mailed to Studio202/Acrofitness, 179 Overhill Drive, Mooresville, NC 28117. Note “Fit A Thon sponsor” on the memo line of checks. Email acrofitness202@gmail.com for more information.Â
