It’s no surprise by now that the media has a negative impact on how girls feel about their bodies. Too skinny, too fat, too tall, too curvy – whatever it may be, women are made to feel ashamed of how they look. However, for DePaul’s CHAARG (Changing Health, Attitudes and Actions to Recreate Girls) event coordinators, Allison Stoch and Vita Svirnuk, body positivity is key.
CHAARG, which recently celebrated its fifth year at DePaul, is a national organization that is aimed to inspire college women to break free from the elliptical and start exercising in new and different ways. Stoch and Svirnuk are the spearhead for getting their chapter out to different classes since they’re the ones who plan where the group will be going each week. This year alone they’ve planned classes that revolved around aerial silks, Pilates, and yoga.
“Before I became an event coordinator, I thought it was so much easier!” Svirnuk admitted. “I thought you just emailed a place they would be like, ‘yes, we’ll take you!’ but it’s so much harder, especially because our chapter is expanding!”
CHAARG means a lot to the two event coordinators. Between classes and clubs and social lives, health and taking care of yourself is usually lost among college students. CHAARG has instead allowed both women to take full responsibility of their health and make it a priority.
“For me, first and foremost, I want girls to make friends and have a community that they’re comfortable with,” Stoch said. “People that are there to hype each other up and not tear each other down. But also, I’m totally behind ‘find your fit!’ I just hope girls take advantage of these free classes that we offer to them and find what they like.”
Planning weekly events for over 90 women is no easy event, but Stoch and Svirnuk love what they do. Most importantly, though, they love inspiring others to be as healthy as they can be.
“When you go to a studio by yourself, not only is it expensive, but it’s scary and frustrating because you don’t know,” Svirnuk said. ‘But when you go with CHAARG girls, no one ever judges you. So not only is it fun for everyone, it’s all new for everyone too. You’re less stressed when you’re in community this big and welcoming.”
CHAARG is always accepting new members. They meet throughout the week and do different group fitness events and they go to different studios every Tuesday. If you’re interested in learning more, go to chaarg.com/depaul-university/.