Play with Purpose: Changing Communities Through Free Public Fitness Programs
Location
CrossFit is an engaging group exercise program that is accessible to diverse populations of Vermonters. Participation in CrossFit classes leads to physical strength and conditioning and dramatic shifts in personal and public values regarding lifelong health. From May to November 2010, free workouts, along with other play-based fitness classes will be held weekdays on Montpelier’s State House lawn.
About You
Section 1: You
First Name
Nick
Last Name
Petterssen
Website URL
Organization
The Confluence
Country
United States, VT
Section 2: Your Organization
Organization Name
The Confluence
Organization Website
Organization Phone
802-229-4131
Organization Address
188 River Street, Montpelier, VT 05602
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
Organization Country
United States, VT
Your idea
Name Your Project
Play with Purpose: Changing Communities Through Free Public Fitness Programs
Country and state your work focuses on
United States, VT
Describe Your Idea
CrossFit is an engaging group exercise program that is accessible to diverse populations of Vermonters. Participation in CrossFit classes leads to physical strength and conditioning and dramatic shifts in personal and public values regarding lifelong health. From May to November 2010, free workouts, along with other play-based fitness classes will be held weekdays on Montpelier’s State House lawn.
Website URL
Innovation
What makes your idea unique?
CrossFit programming is the cornerstone of The Confluence, a nonprofit organization that provides an affordable, high quality fitness environment for adults, youth and children in Central Vermont. As a facility and a community, The Confluence offers a social and family-friendly experience, life and physical skill-building activities, and sustainable pursuit of fitness or athletic performance.
The Confluence is unique in the way that it delivers experiences that are so positive they create a ripple effect in the lives of participants. Personal success from CrossFit often plays a catalytic role in the pursuit of a goal, which then extends to other aspects of a participant’s life and into the community at large.
The scalable and social nature of CrossFit already makes this physical fitness program accessible to diverse populations. The Confluence’s Play with Purpose workouts will have three additional welcoming elements to kids and adults alike: they will be held in the public space of Vermont’s State House; the workouts will involve high quality instruction and be play-based; and they will be offered free of charge.
Play with Purpose will allow youth and adults of all abilities to share a physical experience together. For some, the measurable results are rewarding. Others are drawn by the camaraderie and support that develops within each class. For families, working out together can lead to the design of a family sport culture. Play with Purpose will empower participants and lead to higher levels of confidence and wise decision making when it comes to their health.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
No
Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What impact have you had?
In less than 6 months of operation, The Confluence has a CrossFit membership of 150 diverse Vermonters and has exposed hundreds of others to health-improving programming, including yoga, cycling and bouldering. One example of how The Confluence has reached an underserved population is its Stories in Motion series. For 10 weeks, over 50 children aged three to five participated in a literacy and CrossFit-derived exercise class that tied the power of story with movement.
Problem
Vermont’s future prosperity depends on our ability to provide citizens with a solid foundation of health and physical fitness. A healthy population becomes the basis for community and economic development, as healthy citizens are also productive employees, contributing community members, nurturing parents and motivated participants in our education system. The key to a healthy population is a multi-dimensional fitness environment that provides opportunities for a social and family experience, skill building through sports, and sustainable pursuit of fitness or athletic performance goals.
A community assessment conducted by the United Way reported that Vermonters cited a lack of community resources in the area of physical fitness in Central Vermont. This troubling sentiment builds on the recent trend that point to an increase of obesity in Vermonters as well as across the country. The Obama Administration recently declared that over 50% of Americans are considered obese.
Many adults, youth and children feel that physical fitness is out of reach, whether it is because participation is unaffordable or they have not been previously exposed to a fitness lifestyle, therefore are often
Actions
The Confluence is rapidly growing into its role as facilitator for health, physical fitness and sports performance activities in Central Vermont. The Confluence has been identified as the source of high quality programming and information which will continue to lead to lasting partnerships with diverse public and private organizations and employers. With a continuing influx of resources and support from ambassadors of different sports that come together to share their passion and expertise, The Confluence has established a mentoring network which will be leveraged in the development of our Play with Purpose program. The “Dream Team” of fitness has been formed (the right leaders), approachable, scalable and highly effective programming has been designed (the right classes), and now we are ready to engage with the community and elevate the level of fitness on a community-wide scale.
The primary threat The Confluence faces in launching this public fitness program is a culture that has lost touch with its desire and ability to embrace play as a means for developing physical well being. The challenge in our Play with Purpose program will hinge upon our ability to convince community mem
Results
Although the main benefit of the Play with Purpose program will be an improvement in physical health among the participants, many outcomes flow from the increased level of activity including better mental health, improved eating habits and a closer-knit community. A healthier community will lead to lower health care costs and a higher level of wellness and productivity. But above all, success with the Play with Purpose program will come in the form of a growing population that recognizes the benefits of good, fun, play-based activity and begins to adopt the mentality that moving our bodies on a daily basis is an integral part of our lifestyle in Central Vermont.
Once this initial public showing of community workouts gains momentum there will be a logical need for public spaces and physical structures that serve a community with a growing level of activity. The Confluence is currently laying the groundwork for a public “Fitness Playground” to be developed close to our population center. This playground will be designed for children AND adults and will serve as a meeting place for friends, classes and groups to meet and exercise together in the outdoor environment - the place where
What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.
Year 1: The Confluence’s Play with Purpose program engages 500 individuals over the summer and fall. This growing pool of active people then utilize The Confluence’s existing CrossFit facilities and the organization continues to expand to support 500 members from diverse population groups in Central Vermont. In addition to maximizing the capacity at the facility, a series of off site programs with employers and in public spaces will continue to make CrossFit accessible for more people, with a target of 1,000 individuals participating in Confluence programming in one form or another.
Paralleling the growth of membership and programming, The Confluence receives it 501©3 federal non profit status designation and leads a successful capital campaign to raise funds to secure a building or and to build a public athletic facility that includes a large indoor/outdoor fitness playground.
Year 2: The Confluence commits to a location that can accommodate the vision of a centrally located sports complex that includes an aquatic center, indoor athletic fields, climbing gym, fitness center and an indoor skate park and cycling facility.
Year 3: The Confluence strives to provide every member of the Central Vermont region with affordable access to physical activity. Through outreach, engagement and communication, The Confluence will form a deep partnership with our community to make health, fitness and sports a central theme of the Vermont lifestyle
What would prevent your project from being a success?
The Confluence has a short, but proven track record in meeting the needs of the community for infrastructure for the pursuit of physical fitness goals. The community has responded with financial sponsorships and memberships, which has allowed The Confluence a sound financial start. However, The Confluence’s future rests upon its ability to continue to attract both private and public funding commitments. By securing a nonprofit 501(c)3 designation from the federal government will open the doors to private philanthropy and public grant opportunities. This could lead to a lack of capital needed to expand and invest in the facility and the programs, as well as limit the able to subsidize populations without the financial means to do participate.
The Confluence has developed creative partnerships to match underserved populations with the high quality programming, and expansion of public and private partnerships are key to its future success. Without the relationships in the community that enrich programming and tap needy populations, the Confluence will be limited in its capacity to deliver far-reaching fitness programming to Central Vermont.
How many people will your project serve annually?
101‐1000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
$1000 - 4000
Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?
Yes
Sustainability
What stage is your project in?
Operating for less than a year
In what country?
United States
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Yes
If yes, provide organization name.
The Confluence
How long has this organization been operating?
Less than a year
Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government?
Yes
Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.
CrossFit Inc. – The relationship with the international organization of CrossFit as an affiliate opens us up the immense amounts of programming guidance and training opportunities.
Community Connections – The relationship with this school-aged support organization allows us to develop programs in harmony with the existing infrastructure already serving youth who may be underexposed to healthy lifestyle choices.
Local employers: National Life, Stone Environmental, Onion River Sports – These relationships allow us to garner financial support and tap into broad audiences through employee wellness programs.
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?
The Confluence programs need to be accessible to a diversity of populations in Central Vermont and be creative and nimble in their design. By designing a combination of CrossFit-based programs and offering custom-tailored programs for particular populations, The Confluence can be providing consistency, yet continue to be on the cutting edge of advancing its mission. The Confluence would have the ability to expand programs and access to Vermonters through building a high quality, multi-dimensional sports complex in Central Vermont. Finally, solid organizational development is critical to The Confluence’s success. Dedicated and talented staff, a Board of Directors, volunteers, members and community business and organizational partners are key to evolving programming and facilities.
The Story
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
The idea behind Play with Purpose, and our initiative to bring our programming out into public and to give it away for free, came from stories of success within a social environment. After opening our CrossFit gym last November, we started leading group fitness classes that were very strenuous and pushed individuals to challenge themselves significantly. Initially our members were pretty fit people, and accustomed to working their bodies hard. But over our six months of operations we now have members that run the gamut from elite athletes to sedentary 20-somethings to 65 year old grandmothers, and despite the challenging nature of the workouts they keep coming back, and better yet, they keep dragging their friends through the door to become members.
Although CrossFit programming, our specialty at The Confluence, has many positive elements to its composition, we realized that the number one factor that kept people engaged was the social component . Working hard in a group elicits a powerful reaction of camaraderie that keeps our members coming back to do more work, and with each day of work they put in, there is a tangible improvement in their physical well-being.
And the SECOND most critical piece to why our programming is so successful is that we have turned the concept of a “workout” on its head and introduce the concept of “play” as the underlying theme to our classes. By constantly challenging our members in fresh, engaging game-based classes there is both a mental and physical component to what we do. Participation in physical activity is only valuable if it is sustainable, so in seeing our non-athletic members coming back time and again with a smile and a look of determination it made us realize we had something special that we needed to spread.
The Play with Purpose program is designed to spread.
By bringing our classes out into public, offering them for free, and designing them to be highly engaging and approachable for anyone, we intend to deliver the same social experience that works so well in the gym, to anyone who wants to show up. Furthermore, by encouraging the concept of play as a paradigm for physical activity we hope to infect our community with exuberance for movement. The Play with Purpose program was merely a logical next step for The Confluence to spread its passion and values as an organization that everyone needs physical play. And what better way to do that than in public, on the lawn of the Vermont capital building, for free, with highly skilled trainers leading the fun, and with friends, neighbors, coworkers, family members and all ages and abilities doing it together as a community effort. That’s what The Confluence believes will be the most effective path to growing a passion for fitness and physical activity in Central Vermont, and that’s why we’re hoping the Ashoka’s Changemakers and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters will lend a hand in the mission.
Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.
Nicholas Petterssen is the founder of The Confluence and lead CrossFit Instructor. Nick has been involved in competitive sports for over 23 years, with experience in alpine skiing, volleyball, Nordic skiing, running, Mt. biking, triathlon and road bike racing. Recently Nicholas founded a Nordic ski club in Central Vermont that has grown over four years to serve 215 members, offering programs for kids, junior and master racers and recreational adults. Nick’s passion for multiple sports has placed him into a central role within the athletic community of Central Vermont.
After many years of serving as a coach and an instructor to new participants in those sports, Nick decided to take his commitment to physical activity to a broader audience by opening The Confluence Community Sports Center. This nonprofit organization is now recognized as “the thing he was meant to do” in life, and it is expected that The Confluence will grow to be a far reaching entity within Vermont, and hopefully beyond.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Friend or family member
If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company
50 words or fewer
 | Nick Petterssen submitted this idea. - 651 days ago |
