For Immediate Release
Contact: Allison Stabile
760-602-7160 or mediarelations@jazzercise.com
Jazzercise, Inc. threw a two-day international dance party and fitness getaway at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas June 19-20th. More than 1,780 Jazzercise fans from 10 countries came together for huge group fitness classes, new workout routines, inspiration and an opportunity to give back. Attendees were invited to take the Jazzercise Plank It Off Challenge—challenging themselves to hold a plank position for a great cause. Jazzercise donated 100% of the $5,000 raised through Plank It Off in Dallas to Family Gateway, a non-profit organization working to end child homelessness. Watch a video recap of the event. Jazzercise fans traveled from Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and all over the United States to attend. The two-day fitness party featured an inspirational address by Jazzercise Founder and CEO Judi Sheppard Missett, the Jazzercise Plank It Off Challenge, a shopping expo, and epic 1,780-person workouts including a dance-based High Intensity Interval Training (HiiT) class. Jazzercise continually introduces new moves and new music to keep workouts fresh and challenging for customers. In Dallas the company launched new choreography which is being distributed to instructors worldwide. For more information on Jazzercise classes please visit the website. “Jazzercise has a longstanding tradition of giving back and making our muscle matter,” said Judi Sheppard Missett, Jazzercise Founder and CEO. “Our instructors have raised more than $28 million for a wide range of causes, most of them directly affecting their local communities. We were able to harness some of the energy and intensity that our customers and instructors brought to our international dance party to support Family Gateway. We are honored to be able to help in their mission to end child homelessness.” Each night in Dallas an estimated 5,000 children and their families don’t have a safe place to sleep. Since 1986 Family Gateway has helped thousands of families overcome homelessness. The non-profit organization is leading the Dallas community to end child homelessness by providing innovative housing, social and educational services. Jazzercise Plank It Off participants raised $5,000 for Family Gateway. Watch the Plank It Off video. “Our families are homeless—not hopeless—and Family Gateway provides customized paths to success and self-sufficiency for each of our family members,” said Cathy Packard, Executive Director of Family Gateway. “We plan to use the Jazzercise funds to provide quality educational and physical activities in our summer day camp to ensure our children are prepared to succeed in school this fall.” About Family Gateway Family Gateway has developed an innovative and collaborative approach to serving homeless families and uplifting them to achieve independence, financial stability and regain their courage and pride to overcome homelessness. In addition to providing safe and stable housing as well as comprehensive case management, Family Gateway works with partner agencies to deliver a wide array of services to its clients, including mental and physical health care; employment readiness and job training; financial literacy classes; and educational support, such as preschool and afterschool programs, GED preparation classes, and assistance seeking higher education. For more information, visit www.familygateway.org About Jazzercise Jazzercise, Inc. is one of the world’s leading dance fitness companies with 8,300+ franchisees teaching 32,000+ classes per week in 32 countries around the world. Jazzercise is a pulse-pounding, bass-dropping fitness program that gets results…fast. Instructors train every year to master the Jazzercise method, which fuses cardio, resistance training, Pilates, yoga, kickboxing and the demanding forms of dance. Classes include Dance Mixx, Interval, Fusion, Core, Strength and Strike and burn up to 800 calories in 60 minutes. With constantly changing moves, new beats, a variety of workouts and calorie-crushing intensity, customers can expect to feel results after three classes and expect to stick with it. To find local classes go to jazzercise.com or download the mobile app: iOS or Android. For more information visit jazzercise.com or contact (800) FIT-IS-IT. ####