The More You Do It, the More You Get Out of It.
By: Kevan Worley
The more you do it, the more you get out of it sounds as logical as to not be worth saying. Of course, I have heard it or a variant of it from parents, coaches, teachers, and bosses since childhood. It is so true. But actually living it, having a commitment to the expression, is observable and notable.
At the dawn of 2015, we launched a new venture. We called it WE Fit Wellness. Inspired by my personal quest to get more fit; it was also informed by the appalling and alarming rate of obesity and sedentary lifestyles rampant among people with disabilities and people living in poverty, particularly in isolated rural and inner city communities. We determined we could have an impact. Another often stated and very true bromide is that to whom much has been given, much is expected. I have been given much; therefore, I reason that finding a way to impact equality of opportunity through increasing availability of accurate information, applied accessible technologies, and motivation from subject matter experts in the area of fitness and wellness would make a difference. This is the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Extraordinary progress has been accomplished. But one reality is that people with disabilities are more than twice as likely to be obese as the general population. In other words, “a second disability”. This additional disability stands in the way of increasing employment, quality of life, and longevity. Motivated by my dear friend and subject matter expert, Jessica Beecham, I decided to allocate some dollars and start a program. Why not? I reasoned that we could obtain the expertise to impact what concessionaires sold on government properties. We could work with manufactures of exercise equipment to bring greater accessibility. We could inform fitness centers about inclusion by providing training so that they could be more welcoming and accommodating to a whole new community of customers. We could assemble the experts to provide workshops, seminars, and counseling to improve overall workplace wellness. All of these things and more we have begun to do with great pride of early accomplishment.
Interest in the WE Fit Wellness programs has exceeded even our high expectation. We have provided training to state vocational rehabilitation agency staff members. We have been employed to bring consulting to training centers for the blind. We are deploying our PUSH Far program at centers for independent living. We have received support from the PUSH2.0 Water brand. At the recent convention of the National Federation of the Blind, we offered a “beta” product which presented a variety of described exercise routine and healthy recipes on a SD card or thumb drive. This, “Total Fit Pack” sold like hot cakes, whole grain with fruit of course. More than 10% of convention attendees purchased these audio programs. This fall, we will bring our WE Can Culture organizational wellness programs to a number of government entities and associations.
Our investment of time and money has been will worth it from a personal standpoint as well. It has been heartwarming to receive wonderful comments from people who say that we have given them the kind of encouragement and relevant information which is helping them make better life choices. And the program has inspired me to increase my own commitment to diet, exercise, positive attitude, and better sleep habit. In other words, the more I do it, the more I get out of it. And there is much more to come. We are soon to launch two exciting new projects. So, stay tuned and find your fit with WE Fit Wellness!
