The Annual onbikes ‘Santa’s Bike Build’ Helps At-Risk Children in Tampa Bay
Tampa, Nov. 29 – This Giving Tuesday, November 29 th , the Orangetheory Fitness
Afterburn team, a team usually focused on physical health, is coming together to
enhance the physical and mental health of children in need. They are doing this by
constructing bicycles and with an online donation drive for the nonprofit, onbikes, which
provides bicycles to at risk youth and children in foster care.
Orangetheory Fitness will participate in the ‘Santa’s Bike Build’ initiative on Dec. 2 nd
assembling 1,000 bikes with 1,000 volunteers over a six-hour period at the Amalie
Arena in Tampa. The volunteers will open boxes of unassembled bike parts and turn
those into machines ready to be used by children in need. In addition, Orangetheory will
hold an online donation drive starting on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 29, running through Dec.
19.
“A small bike can make a life-changing impact for a child, increasing their physical and
mental health for the better” says Jim Potesta, CEO of Orangetheory Fitness Afterburn.
“Every child deserves a bike, and we’re honored to be a few of Santa’s elves to make
that happen for children in need right here in the Tampa Bay area.”
Riding a bike is one of the healthiest pastimes that kids pick up and almost never grow
out of. The 3 main benefits of cycling are:
1. Health & Wellness: Increasing balance, strengthen muscles, & burn calories.
2. Community: Social acceptance, new relationships, & increased emotional health.
3. Transportation: A reliable source of transport for school, work, & errands.
“Do you remember that independent, ecstatic, joyful feeling of freedom the first time you
rode your bike? That feeling can’t be packaged and put under a tree, but that’s the
feeling we want to give children in need this Christmas,” said Potesta.
The Orangetheory studios participating in the online drive and assembly are: South
Tampa, Gandy, Brandon, Lithia, Riverview, Tyrone, St. Pete, Downtown St. Pete, Palm
Harbor, Clearwater, and Largo. Each individual studio is aiming to raise $1-thousand
dollars in addition to the bike building day on Dec. 2.
ABOUT AFTERBURN HOLDINGS
Afterburn Holdings is a leading franchisee and area representative of Orangetheory
Fitness, founded in 2013 and headquartered in Houston, Texas. The Company
operates and oversees 90 Orangetheory Fitness studios across territories in Texas,
Florida and Washington.
ABOUT ORANGETHEORY® FITNESS
Orangetheory is a heart-rate based total-body group workout that combines science,
coaching and technology to produce maximum results from the inside out. Workouts are
typically 1-hour long and are led by trained coaches, incorporating endurance, strength,
and power to guide members through 5 different heart rate zones. The workout aims to
increase excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC or the ‘Orange Effect’)
whereby participants can continue to burn a higher rate of calories for 24 to 36 hours
after their workout. There are currently over 1,300 fitness studios worldwide in the
Orangetheory system.
About GivingTuesday: GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing
the power of radical generosity to transform communities and the world. GivingTuesday
was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Over
the past ten years, it has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of
millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.