Dana Santi, the owner of The Pilates Core in Western Springs, Illinois decided to participate in International Pilates Gives Back Day where Pilates studios, instructors and aficionados came together for a day of giving back to the community. This year, the celebration focused on donating all profits from that day to one of five charities from around the world, including Action for Healthy Kids!

When asked why Action for Healthy Kids was selected as one of the charities, Santi responded, “Joseph Pilates truly believed that one day Pilates would be in schools.” As the pioneer of the Pilates method, “He believed that one of the best things you could do for kids was to keep them physically active.”

Through her efforts on Pilates Gives Back Day, Dana raised over $1,000 to support our work. Funds were raised through a raffle, where clients could win prizes such as free Pilates classes, equipment, and DVDs. The studio was open to anyone who wanted to participate in a donation-based class that day, ranging from KIDS Class! to Spine Corrector to other mat-based classes. More than 50 people participated, including those who were new to Pilates as well as existing members of The Pilates Core studio.

“I received a lot of questions about Action for Healthy Kids that day, which gave me an opportunity to talk about the importance of physical activity and how Pilates can be used to achieve that,” Santi revealed.

The funds raised through Pilates Gives Back Day are part of our Team Healthy Kids initiative, a peer fundraising program that allows anyone to raise money for our school-based programs to help keep kids healthy.