Virginia Tech is known for awards relating to having the most fit student body, so it only makes sense that there would be what USA TODAY calls a “fitness sorority” on our campus. This semester, CHAARG, a health community for women on more than 60 college campuses is launching at Virginia Tech.
From the Virginia Tech Ambassador, Junior Jules Duran:
“CHAARG stands for Changing the Health, Attitudes and Actions to Recreate Girls. We are a National organization focused on empowering girls through health and fitness! If you would love to be apart of a supportive community that will help you be your best self, then join CHAARG! We practice not only fitness with local studios, but also focus on self-care and confidence every week. I believe that every girl should love who they are, so my goal for CHAARG at VT is to show girls how powerful they truly are.”
CHAARG is a national organization, originally founded at The Ohio State University in 2012. The organization focuses on the mission of empowering women at the gym and helping them move beyond the elliptical into other health and fitness goals. Founder Elisabeth Tavierne talked about the lack of women she saw in weight rooms and how she wanted to create a sense of solidarity between women to help get themselves out there at the gym, along with trying new kinds of fitness. CHAARG embraces the motto of helping members “find their fit” by understanding that not everyone has the same favorite type of exercise. Individuality matters and members are given the chance to step outside their comfort zones with new and adventurous fitness routines.
On their website, CHAARG boasts a membership of over 10,000 girls and also features recipes and blogs that not only focus on fitness, but also job hunting and other relatable content, as well as a newsletter and a podcast. Potential members are invited to read more about the organization, their founding, and other resources related to the organization. The organization also shares lots of content on social media and encourages chapters to create their own networks using unique hashtags and account handles. Virginia Tech members can be found using the hashtag #vtchaarg and members usually mark their social media handles with the ending “inchaarg” to indicate chapter membership.
The launch of this fitness club at Virginia Tech marks the first organization solely dedicated to female fitness, aside from programs done through Recreational Sports and McComas Hall. Current members of the VT CHAARG chapter are excited to begin the semester and start their group workouts, as well as small group meetings, as indicated on the chapter’s social media.
Membership for the spring semester at Virginia Tech is $45 and interested individuals can sign up online using this link. Learn more about the new Virginia Tech chapter here.
Follow Virginia Tech CHAARG on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
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