It’s the end of another session and, wow does time fly! The end of session means it’s show time!
All our in-house shows are fundraisers for local charities. Entry is by donation and 100% of all the money donated at the door goes directly to the charity. This is a really important part of who we are as a club.
One reason is because we don’t want finance and entry costs to be a barrier for anyone to join us and enjoy the work our athletes have put into their performance.
The primary reason though, is because of our club’s guiding principle – to teach our athletes life skills and values through gymnastics. Pointed toes will not save the world, they will not get you a job outside the dance world, but they contribute to the quality of the performance. The better the performance, the more of a draw we can be as a group to raise money for people in need.
We work with our athletes to develop a love of the sport for its beauty and its challenges. We also teach them that the care and attention this love brings them to put in each and every day of their training can benefit others. This helps them learn that the things we don’t like to do, the things we would all love to skip, those things help us be better, and this gives them added motivation. That last push up of the set, the last run through of your routine is tough. Your body is tired and it would be so great to skip it, but that last push up and routine makes you better, if not for yourself, but for that person in need. That last push up or last routine will help you be better so your performance can help raise more money for the woman escaping violence, of the child wishing they had a roof over their heads, or the kids who wish they could participate in a sport too.
The hope is that this will carry on to the future they are creating for themselves. If our athletes become talented chefs, they can grow their dream careers, but also donate those skills to helping put on a fundraising dinner or cook for those who need a good meal. If we have budding accountants in our midst, they can have highly fulfilling and successful careers, while contributing their accounting knowledge to a local charity board.
To help make this last push up or last run through of a routine even more personal, we ask the gymnasts to nominate and vote on charities that they are passionate about. This year, our advanced performance athletes nominated three charities and presented an overview of each charity’s mission to the rest of the performance team. Each gymnast had a chance to vote. The charity with the most votes is the one the proceeds go to.
At this point, we want to thank you all for any donation big or small, whatever is possible for you. Your support for our girls’ performance is not only helping local charities right now, but it is helping us teach future members of our communities the impact they can have. You are helping them realize their power. You are helping them realize that their time and passion make the biggest difference of all.
Thank you to each and every one of you.