Empowering Community Health
Dan Burns and Tavia Patusky accepted the grant for Columbia Association.
Mark Spencer and Sue Boreskie accepted the grant for Reh-Fit Centre.
Why Columbia Association and Reh-Fit Centre received the first-ever HFA Foundation Community Innovation Grants.
BY PATRICIA AMEND
To help drive HFA’s mission, the association created the HFA Foundation in 2012, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. But like many philanthropic projects, the foundation struggled through the pandemic years as HFA and the industry recovered.
Today, the HFA Foundation is once again positioned to empower HFA member facilities to make a difference in their communities, according to HFA Foundation Executive Director Amy Bantham.
“With a mission to elevate the importance of physical activity and health, the HFA Foundation connects fitness facilities with their communities through research, scholarships and grants, and philanthropy,” says Bantham, who is also CEO and founder of the research and consulting firm Move to Live More.
The industry is stepping up to support the effort. The HFA Foundation was the beneficiary of funds raised at the second annual HFA Hall of Fame induction ceremony at The HFA Show 2026 in San Diego on March 15. Sponsored by The Bay Club Company, the popular event raised $130,000 for the foundation, an increase from the $50,000 raised at the first Hall of Fame ceremony in 2025.
The evening also presented an excellent opportunity to showcase the HFA Foundation’s important work. For months, Bantham and other members of the foundation's board accepted applications for its first-ever Community Innovation Grant. During the HFA Hall of Fame event, she presented a $5,000 check to each of the two grant recipients: Columbia Association, based in Columbia, Maryland, and Reh-Fit Centre, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Here’s what makes these programs worthy recipients.
Bantham
Columbia Association: Rewarding 25 Years Working With Schools
Columbia Association (CA) is a nonprofit community services organization that manages the common-use facilities, parks, and recreational amenities for the planned community of Columbia, Maryland, home to some 100,000 residents. Its long-running, highly successful CA Points program, now in its 25th year, serves children in 21 local public schools, providing complimentary memberships to the families of students in grades three through 12 who meet academic and attendance goals.
“The HFA Foundation grant will help us to further expand access and broaden our offerings to the families in our community who need it the most,” says Dan Burns, CA’s senior vice president of community programs and services.
Since its launch in 2001 with two schools, the program has grown significantly, with 8,176 students earning memberships for themselves and their families. Over the past 25 years, it has demonstrated a sustainable and scalable model for improving community health through collaboration, accountability, and equitable access.
“The specialized programs and lessons enable us to offer more diverse enrichment opportunities and create an even more meaningful experience for the children we serve,” Burns says. “Our team members take great pride in offering a program that encourages them to succeed academically, while also supporting families as they build healthier lifestyles.”
Local schools work closely with CA to verify student eligibility, monitor participation, and host activities, including the annual CA Points Party celebration. The program’s success is reflected in a 100% membership activation rate and an estimated 80% use rate.
Each year, CA invests heavily to support the program, contributing nearly $1 million in membership value, staffing, facility use, and programming.
These are the types of successful outcomes that caught the attention of the HFA Foundation.
“The memberships give the students and their families access to safe, structured physical activity opportunities,” Bantham says. “Through recreational programming, which includes fitness, ice skating, swimming, and tennis, thousands of kids have improved their physical health, confidence, and social connection.”
Reh-Fit Centre: Supporting a Proven Behavior-Change Program
Reh-Fit Centre is a not-for-profit, medically integrated health and fitness facility. It’s known for being Canada’s first certified medical fitness facility, as well as for its “exercise is medicine” philosophy. The grant will support Reh-Fit’s Her Heart Her Way initiative, a 12-month behavior-change program designed specifically for women at risk of heart disease.
Launched in October 2022, Her Heart Her Way combines in-person and virtual coaching to help participants build sustainable habits that include regular exercise, stress management, and good nutrition.
“The Victoria Hospital Foundation had donors who wanted a program to be developed for women who were at risk of heart disease over the next 10 years,” says Reh-Fit CEO Sue Boreskie. “One goal was to make it easily accessible to women through virtual coaching sessions. This provided the initial funds for the development process.”
Here’s how it works: After women are referred by their primary care providers, each participant is paired with a lifestyle behavioral mentor who has been trained in health behavior change, motivational interviewing, and counseling. During the year, mentors help participants set personalized goals, overcome barriers, and connect with additional community resources, as needed.
The HFA Foundation board was impressed with the program’s design and health outcomes, Bantham says.
“Participants in Reh-Fit Centre's program are making sustainable lifestyle changes,” she says. “It serves women over age 30 who are at risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Data from the first 54 participants who have completed the program indicate that there has been a 27% relative decrease in their 10-year risk of heart attack or stroke.”
Such improvements can change lives. They influence treatment decisions, allowing some women to move from medication and lifestyle intervention to lifestyle intervention alone. Reh-Fit plans to publish its findings to advance the understanding of women’s heart health and support broader adoption of similar models.
“We are very honored to be one of the first two recipients of these grants from the HFA Foundation,” Boreskie says. “Our team and partners have been working on this innovative program for years. This grant reinforces the fact that the years of effort have been worthwhile.”
More importantly, Boreskie adds, more women will have an opportunity to join Her Heart Her Way.
“The HFA Foundation grant will be used to reach the full target number of women we want for the program, so we can validate its effectiveness on health parameters,” Boreskie says. “The feedback that we have received from the women involved in this program is also very meaningful to all involved.”
“We were very pleased by the number and strength of applications that were submitted for the grant's first year.” • Amy Bantham
Accepting Applications Soon
Are you working on a program? Are you driving change in your community through fitness?
As this year’s grant recipients illustrate, the HFA Foundation Community Innovation Grant celebrates highly effective programs that connect fitness facilities with local initiatives to boost physical activity and improve community health. To be eligible, programs can be either new or existing. The selection criteria include innovation, community impact, collaboration, sustainability, and measurable outcomes.
“We were very pleased by the number and strength of applications that were submitted for the grant's first year,” Bantham says. “HFA member facilities can apply for the next round of grants as soon as the application process opens later this year.”
Look for further communication from HFA and an announcement in an upcoming issue of HFB.
Health & Fitness Business (HFB) is the leading health and fitness industry publication. Published monthly by the Health & Fitness Association (HFA) and distributed free to the industry, HFB offers analysis of the opportunities, challenges, issues, and news that impact the industry.
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