1. MATTHEW S. ROBINSON
62 Brookline Street, Needham, MA 02492
617 877 6264 / matthewsrobinson@mac.com
The following piece appeared in Fitness Management:
Doing Well by Doing Good
BHAC lets members help others while helping themselves
By Matt Robinson
People go to fitness clubs for various reasons. Some go to build their bodies. Others go
to relieve stress. Still others (admit it!) go to meet people.
But what about people who have larger goals in mind, such as those who want to help
themselves while helping others?
For them, there are the Beacon Hill Athletic Clubs (beaconhillathleticclubs.com).
Based in Boston, this six-site family of clubs has been serving the Greater Boston area
for nearly 25 years. About 10 years ago, Co-founder David Ilan Weis came up with an
idea to expand the clubs’ service beyond their walls.
“I was looking for a way to extrapolate my own visions of being philanthropic to our
business,” he explains. “I wanted to have a health club that was more than a place to
work out.”
So, in 1993, Weis and his partner and co-owner Jason Klein founded the Beacon Hill
Athletic Clubs Charitable Foundation (BHACCF), a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit
organization that represented the first health-club based public charity in the world.
“Our original goal was to raise the level of consciousness among our members and to
make our clubs a place where they could get involved in important causes that were
meaningful to them and where they could find like-minded people to channel their
energy most effectively.”
According to BHACCF Administrator Robyn Dalton, who is also a personal trainer, the
Foundation’s mission is three-fold.
“First of all,” she says, “we want to raise the consciousness and level of philanthropy of
the members of the clubs. We also want to support worthwhile charitable efforts, and to
provide a vehicle through which our members can help improve our community and the
world at large.”
The BHACCF’s first mission was also its most ambitious to date. With the help of about
20 other volunteers, Weis and Klein arranged to have 13 people airlifted out of war-torn
Bosnia and brought to Boston for free medical care and a new chance at life.

2. “That project took a long time,” Weis recalls, “and, frankly, it was probably a bit too
much for us to take on, especially as a first endeavor. However, after many months of
20-hour days and working with individuals and agencies all over the world, we did it!”
Since that time, both the BHAC and the Foundation have grown to the point where they
can reach thousands of more people with each subsequent venture. Among the
Foundation’s most successful projects have been regular blood drives, holiday gift
collections for Toys for Tots, the St. Patrick’s Day “Shamrocks Against Dystrophy”
events, and the club’s Fitness Challenge, which raises money for Special Olympics.
“This program started about 10 years ago as a fundraiser for Special Olympics,” Dalton
explains. “So far, we have raised over $25,000, including the over $5,000 we raised last
year alone!”
Throughout April, BHAC members are invited to register for the Challenge.
“We ask for a $35 registration fee,” Dalton explains, “but people can also get sponsored
to help them raise more money.”
Once registered, participants keep track of their exercise routines throughout the month.
“We give them points for each activity they do and these points are compounded the
longer they do them,” Dalton says. “Participants can also get bonus points for working
out at multiple clubs, for working with our professional trainers, or for taking part in our
many classes, like Yoga and Boot Camp.”
At the end of the Challenge, the participant at each club who has the most points is
given a prize.
“We get prizes donated from restaurants and businesses all over town,” Dalton says. “It
really helps people stay motivated!”
In addition to their annual events, BHAC also has ongoing fundraisers for different
organizations that last throughout the year.
“Last year, we donated thousands of dollars worth of equipment and services to the
Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton,” Dalton says. “We even sent over some of our
trainers to help the residents learn how to use the equipment and how to take better
care of their health.”
This year, BHAC is also raising money for The Lenny Fund, a cancer research
foundation named for the late civil rights leader and Anti-Defamation League Director
Leonard P. Zakim.
“He was such an important member of the community,” Dalton says. “We wanted to
help honor and continue his work.”
BHAC has also established a relationship with The Ronald McDonald House in Newton,
home of one of their clubs.
“We let parents of children who are in the hospital work out at our gyms for free,” Dalton
says.
Though Weis realizes that the BHAC is not the only fitness club that hosts and
organizes events such as these, he feels that his company’s commitment is still
exemplary.
“There are a lot of clubs that do walks and fundraisers,” he says, “but we try to do a little
bit more. We try to make the charitable efforts more than just a sideline.”
In fact, Weis explains, when potential members are given tours of BHAC facilities, they
are explicitly told about the Foundation and how they might contribute.

3. “We want people to think about it when they join and to give consciously when they
come here,” Weis says. “It is part of our business. and when people are one of our
members, they are part of a community of about 7,000 people who actively care and
work for these causes, and that gives a certain level of power to the process.”
Noting how companies that become known for their community service (e.g., Ben &
Jerry’s) often see the rewards not only in terms of what they provide to others but also
in terms of what they receive as a company, Weis openly wonders why more
companies do not follow suit.
“Hopefully, our work can inspire others,” he says, suggesting that the idea is far from
proprietary. “In fact, I invite anyone who wants to contact me
[davidw@beaconhillathleticclubs.com] to find out how we did it and how we have done
so well doing it.”
Even if others choose not to follow the BHACCF model, Weis urges his colleagues to do
what they can to give back to the community (and the world) in a meaningful way.
“It is good business,” he says,” and it is the right thing to do. There is no doubt about it!”