From Mary Claire
Message from FitFrog Founder & Executive Director (January 2017)
Happy New Year! With 2017 upon us, I was recently having a conversation with a board member about what we at FitFrog Foundation have accomplished and learned since its beginning in 2009. Let me share some of what we discussed.
I started FitFrog and my limousine business at the same time. Just prior to this I started an aggressive fitness program, becoming a CrossFit athlete. As I reflect on the last 20 months of my life, which have included three major surgeries (two for hip replacements), I remain grateful for the wellness and fitness I had invested in earlier. It allowed me to recover quicker than I hoped for, while continuing to operate and grow my business in order to sustain myself.
The many, many hours I have spent listening to people in the back seat of my limousine, or even taxis when I first started, have given me a bigger view of the world which I bring to FitFrog. We truly do live in evolving times, and I want to make sure that FitFrog continues to meet the needs of our potential clients where they are.
FitFrog has evolved too. Since we work with an entirely volunteer board and administrators (with only the trainers or service providers being paid), we’ve moved at a deliberately slow pace. Our business model has developed into finding a good trainer or service provider and then pairing them with an individual or small group of people who are actively seeking change, but lack the resources.
Just as the restaurant business has introduced popup restaurants and boutiques, we too, have adopted a popup nutrition and fitness model with a one-on-one focus. Eventually we may become involved with larger groups of people, but part of the success of fitness and nutrition coaching is being consistent, having a mutual agreement, and a personal touch. The personal relationship that is fostered in our programs is part of the process that we will always strive to continue and duplicate.
We’ve learned that being a FitFrog client and trainer or service provider is transformational for both parties. This was unexpected, but in hindsight not surprising. If you think about it, most personalized services are offered to people who have a higher level of disposable income. Lower income individuals, who are financially living day-to-day, do not often have the luxury of learning about nutrition or being in an individualized fitness program. Trainers and fitness professionals don’t encounter lower income people often. As FitFrog clients work, change, and experience success, the trainers see how powerful the clients really are, and usually have come to admire her, and find their lives are also enriched through this experience.
FitFrog is grateful for the opportunities we’ve had to offer life-altering fitness and nutrition services for women in crisis. We are actively seeking further opportunities to do some awesome work. Please contact us at fitfrog.org@gmail.com should you know of an individual (or small group) who could benefit from our services, and/or you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to FitFrog Foundation.
Thank you for your interest!
Mary Claire Friesema
