A long-standing bench press contest and fundraiser will be held at Ironworks Health and Wellness Centre in support of Pathways Health Centre for Children.
The 23rd "Give the Kids a Lift" event will be held on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.
Community members are invited to the Point Edward gym to cheer for the registered participants and donate money to Pathways.
Co-organizer Dave Schaller said they run a very inclusive contest with lifters of all ages and abilities.
"We've added something called the hammer strength bench press — which is a second bench press — which allows anybody with balance or mobility issues to participate in the contest," Schaller said. "We have our special Olympians — our Titans powerlifting team there, our Iron Eagles program. I think our oldest lifter has been 83, our youngest was 13."
Over the years, Ironworks members have raised approximately $250,000* for Pathways through pledges.
Although Ironworks and Pathways have technically worked together on the contest for 25 years, they were unable to run the event for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The initiative started with Schaller, who was Pathways' community services manager, and Cam Davies, the former owner of Ironworks.
"Basically what happened was, [Schaller] and I were workout partners and bench press is something we've always enjoyed doing," said Davies. "[Schaller] being with Pathways, we got together and found out that this would be a great idea to be able to put some energy into the gym and at the same time raise money for Pathways."
Tax receipts will be available upon requests for donations over $20. Raffle tickets will also be sold for a chance to win one of two mystery backpacks filled with items.
*A correction was made to the story to specify the correct monetary total for pledges collected over the years.
