Women-only members gym offers helping hand to Arrow Child & Family Ministries
Spring, TX (November 8, 2019) – “Tis the season,” according to Vanessa Hall, Owner and General Manager of SHAPES Fitness for Women (SHAPES), a 6,670-square-foot women’s-only members gym in Spring, Texas.
SHAPES opened for business in late March 2019 and the “season” Hall referenced is its bimonthly fundraising efforts among staff and gym members to support local charities and causes. From November 1 to mid-December, SHAPES is raising funds to present in a check to Arrow Child & Family Ministries (Arrow).
Arrow provides child welfare and education services for abused and neglected children and families in crisis. According to their website, their services and programs impact more than 4,000 children, teens and families every year. Founded in 1992, Arrow assists with foster care and adoption, provides health services, combats child sex trafficking, and does much more.
“I cannot properly articulate what it means to us to be able to reach out and help worthwhile local organizations,” Hall said. “Yes, we are just starting out, but we want to establish good habits and be a good neighbor. What better way than to reach out and help others journeying alongside us and endeavoring to make a difference? Arrow Ministries is doing just that – they are making an amazing difference in the lives of families and children. “They bless my heart, and we want to bless them.”
SHAPES reaches out to its modest numbers of 200-plus members, publicizes the charity or organization and requests voluntary donations in addition to taking a percentage of its monthly profits and donating them to the chosen entity.
“Yes, we are ‘young,’ Hall said, “and we are trying to grow our business. People have said to me, ‘How can you afford to do this when you don’t have a full gym?’ My response is that we can’t afford not to do it.”
Hall said that when she started SHAPES, the intention was to go far beyond being a workout facility exclusively for women.
“We want to be very intentional in making an impact – we wouldn’t be here without standing on the shoulders of others,” Hall continued. “We want to let others stand on our shoulders as well.”
In September, SHAPES provided a financial donation to the Emergency Chaplain Group of Spring. In January 2020, Hall said they will select another organization and reach out to them with a measure of support as well.
SHAPES Spring is situated in an ideal location 20 miles north of downtown Houston and helps promote healthier lifestyles in the Spring, Klein, Tomball and The Woodlands,Texas, communities. Hall is fond of saying that the gym is committed to seeing women become healthy from the inside out, and the gym is, in her words, “very family-friendly.”
The new facility offers a variety of convenient health and fitness options for the community. Equipped with state-of-the-art strength equipment as well as cardio machines outfitted with personalized LCD television screens and iPod docking stations, the club features an infrared sauna, dressing areas with private showers, personal fitness training, more than 30 group exercise classes, outdoor walking classes, life classes, and other amenities.
The facility has a wide array of state-of-the-art Precor fitness equipment, featuring a Queenax functional fitness machine and certified instructors, plus a full parent-monitored Kids Zone that is available for kids from infancy to age 11.
“SHAPES is a great place for women in the community to get to know one another,” Hall said. “Healthy communities are communities that know each other,” Hall said, “and we believe right here is a great place to start. We want to be like the old Cheers television show – a place where everybody knows your name!”
SHAPES Spring’ hours are 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. SHAPES is closed on Sundays “in order to allow staff and members to spend time with their families as well,” Hall said.
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