Self Esteem Brands Expands Scope of HeartFirst Charitable Foundation® to Advance Health, Wellbeing and Self-Esteem Worldwide; Announces Initial Major Gifts for 2020
MINNEAPOLIS – July 28, 2020 – Self Esteem Brands (SEB), the parent company of Anytime Fitness, Basecamp Fitness, The Bar Method and Waxing the City, today unveiled an expanded scope for its HeartFirst Charitable Foundation® that aligns its giving to advance and support with a wider set of causes, either on the foundation’s own behalf or in partnership with 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations.
SEB has announced its first round of HeartFirst™ donations for 2020, initially totaling $700,000:
Tee It Up for the Troops: A $200,000 grant will be dispersed through Tee It Up through partnerships with veterans’ support organizations to help active duty service members, veterans and their families from all branches and conflicts heal, transition, grow and thrive.
Special Olympics – United Sports: A $500,000 grant will fund a Special Olympics initiative with United Sports to promote social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experiences. United Sports is a nonprofit that joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team, training together and playing together as a quick path to friendship and understanding.
First established in 2007 and maintained through contributions from Anytime Fitness and Waxing the City franchise owners, HeartFirst has aimed to support health, wellbeing, and self esteem. Past causes included Operation HeartFirst, a partnership with Tee It Up for the Troops to provide grants that helped veterans open their own Anytime Fitness clubs.
Moving forward, as the number of brands in the SEB family expands and their presence grows worldwide, HeartFirst is expanding to keep pace with a wider set of causes and charitable partners. The company also sees a clear opportunity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to make fitness and wellness – the means to help strengthen immune systems – a greater priority in communities around the world.
“The long game for our company and brands is a bet on health and wellness, and COVID-19 has shown that we need to place a stronger emphasis on that bet,” said David Mortensen, co-founder and president, Self Esteem Brands. “We are revisiting the ways we can together support and invest in the personal wellness needs of our communities worldwide.”
About Self Esteem Brands
Our purpose is to improve the self-esteem of the world. Self Esteem Brands (SEB) is the parent company of Anytime Fitness (the world’s largest fitness franchise), Basecamp Fitness, The Bar Method and Waxing the City. Combined, most of our more than 4,700 franchise locations are locally operated across 30 countries worldwide by independent, small business owners. SEB is also the parent company to affiliates Provision Security Solutions and Healthy Contributions. Leading with a high-performance culture anchored in the values of people, purpose, profits and play, plus a charitable focus through its HeartFirst Foundation®, SEB seeks to enrich the lives of all who interact with our brands and businesses. Our vision is a world of self-esteem, for every human to rise from their challenges.