South Orange’s second annual SOFit Challenge, a four-month program that promotes and supports healthy living, held its launch dinner Tuesday night with participants sharing their goals for the program.
Roughly 30 people attended the event at Above Restaurant, including South Orange Recreation Director Kate Schmidt and deputy director Peter Travers. Trustee Steve Schnall spoke, as did all attendees, who shared their reasons for participating in SOFit2016.
The stories ranged from those wanting to recover from injuries and people hoping to lose weight, to one woman whose husband had recently passed away looking for a way to reconnect with the community in her grief, through fitness. As guests ate a healthy dinner of grilled salmon, grilled chicken, grilled vegetables and salad, they got to know each other and talked of goals, setbacks, and achievements.
South Orange’s New Jersey Tae Kwon Do owner Steve Safran spoke of the importance of community and donating classes to SOFit. “Tae Kwon Do is for everyone,” he said. “You might drive by and see all the little kids I instruct in my studio, but martial arts is for adults, too. Grab a buddy and come try something you may never have done before. You’l feel muscles you never know you owned!”
Schmidt thanked all sponsors and attendees for their devotion to the program, adding “I’ll be at the 7:30 am class at D&I tomorrow, and there’s still room, so come join me!”
SOFit, the South Orange Health and Fitness Challenge, kicked off January 21, and the 150 participants are able to design their own wellness and fitness programs, taking advantage of free classes throughout Maplewood and South Orange for a nominal fee of $25.
Weigh-ins are encouraged, and take place on the 2nd Thursday of every month from now until May. SOFit is sponsored by many local health and fitness outfits, including CycleMaplewood (www.cyclemaplewood.com), Studio 509 (www.studio509.com), SPA Lady (www.spaladysouthorange.com), the South Mountain YMCA, Shakti Yoga, CKO, Viva Z Club, and more. For a full list of sponsors, visit https://www.southorangefitness.org/sponsors-and-promotions.html.
