Kimberly Montgomery, owner of Balance Health + Body realized right away the opportunities she would have as a business owner when she launched her spin studio in August 2017.
“It’s evident there’s an altruistic spirit in our community and at Balance,” Montgomery said. “I’m tapping into my own resources to keep that spirit bumping.”
Last fall, Montgomery created the BHB “Give Back Movement” and began with a denim bar. Although it seemed odd to sell denim at a fitness studio, two major truths surfaced: she sees over 30 women daily and all women “love a sick pair of jeans” — especially after reaching a fitness goal.
Prior to opening BHB, Montgomery’s professional background was retail management, so she says she found a reasonably priced, quality line of denim that fit all body types. Then she decided to do something for the community and asked women to bring in a gently used pair of women’s, men’s or kid’s denim to the studio to receive $5 off a new pair of jeans.
In December, Julie Moore, a yoga instructor on the Girls, Inc. board of directors, collected over 50 pairs of jeans from BHB and took them to Girls, Inc.
Last year, clients donated canned goods at the studio from Thanksgiving to Christmas — totaling over 100 items — for local homeless shelters.
A Balance client participated in the “Dancing With Our Stars” event and the studio raised $150 for the Boulware Mission on its first donation ride.
Then Montgomery realized there was a way to combine her community outreach and her clients’ desire to give, so she set up a monthly donation ride. Since adding these specific rides, Montgomery has booked three more.
“Last weekend we raised $300 to be added to the Nave family annual fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis,” Montgomery said. “On this ride, BHB paid 50 cents for each mile traveled on each bike. We logged 210 miles.”
Montgomery has added another ride for September to directly fund the relief efforts of the American Humane Society for rescuing domestic animals in the path of Hurricane Florence. This will be the second charity ride for the month and Montgomery is also accepting donations.
In October, a client’s husband is participating in the “Real Men Wear Pink” fundraiser, so BHB will be spinning for breast cancer research.
Also in October, BHB is riding to raise money for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) “100 for 100,” where 100 local businesses donate $100.
“Sarah, the client spearheading this ride said, ‘Seriously, I know you hear this all of the time but I’ve never had more fun working out. You make it accessible and inclusive and that is just awesome!’ So, that’s just the vibe we maintain. Challenging, but oh so fun,” Montgomery said.
Because November is diabetes awareness month, and Balance has an instructor with Type I diabetes, another spinning fundraiser has been planned.
“With each donation ride, I receive more positive feedback and interest in setting up a date to have a host charity,” Montgomery said. “I say bring them all on.”
