They were jumping, squatting, and toe-touching their way to health, and to help. Nearly 100 people packed into Concord's CrossFit Adventure Saturday morning. They came with donations in hand, and thoughts of the Sandy Hook massacre victims on their minds.
"When you hear about communities that might be struggling or going through a tragic event like this, the immediate response is, 'how do I help?'" said CrossFit Adventure owner Carolyn Scalia.
Scalia has a mutual friend of the Bacon family. Their daughter Charlotte was one of the 20 first graders killed in Newtown. Scalia's personal connection inspired her to help the victims' families. Her six-year-old daughter was also an inspiration.
"It hits a very personal chord, knowing that my daughter could have been in that classroom," Scalia said.
The two person teams did a special WOD, or "workout of the day." Each move had numerical significance. They did as many rounds as possible in 14 minutes to mark the tragedy that happened on the 14th day of December; 12 toes to bar, 12 for the month of December; six squat cleans, Charlotte's age that fateful day; 22 box jumps for February 22nd, which would have been Charlotte's 7th birthday.
"It was a very difficult time," participant Amanda Tamo said. "When they mentioned to me that her birthday was yesterday, it was, that really hit me hard."
Fellow participant Gabe Rapisardo added, "I just feel blessed to be happy, healthy, and alive myself. So coming out and being able to do something like this is good. It's just a reminder of how lucky we all are."
To donate to the Newtown Kindness fund, click here. Every dollar helps.
