Working Out With a Purpose

The appeal for LIVE FOR LIFE’s “Fit in 15” program is fairly simple. It’s a quick and easy way to jump start progress toward your fitness goals.

But for this fall’s edition, there’s another reason to give the challenge a shot.

Every participant who completes the required exercise amount – at least 30 minutes of exercise on 15 days between September 15 and October 14  – will automatically see their “LIVE FOR LIFE dollars” go to the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Unit Family Support Program.

“I think it’s really good that we’re finding a way to give back to the Duke community, as the Duke community,” said Katie MacEachern, LIVE FOR LIFE Fitness Specialist. “It’s a way to give back to ourselves and the ones that we serve.”

For the first time and as part of the Healthy Duke initiative, Duke students are invited to join employees in registering for the Fit in 15 challenge, which last year saw 750 participants and around 450 who complete the required amount of exercise. Fitness activities are logged online.

With the donation of LIVE FOR LIFE dollars from this fall’s Fit in 15, the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Unit Family Support Program will be able to provide patients and their families with helpful items such as tote bags and beverage tumblers. LIVE FOR LIFE dollars are Monopoly-like money that is usually exchanged for health-related items in the LIVE FOR LIFE store.

Ranging in age from one month to 21 years old, the patients who come through the 16-bed Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Unit), part of Duke Health System, often face long stays and difficult recoveries on an isolation unit.

The Family Support Program is a self-funded program, which is dedicated to caring for, serving, and lightening the burden of the Duke Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant community through an array of services and resources.

“We try to get our kids out of their rooms and help them forget about what they’re going through or where they are and bring some joy and some excitement into their day,” said program director Tracey Wiwatowski. “… The journey of transplant can be very difficult for our families and anything we can do to bring a smile to their face is worth so much.”

If you have LIVE FOR LIFE dollars earned from previous activities, they can be donated by dropping them off at the LIVE FOR LIFE office in the Orange Zone in the sub-basement of Duke Clinic, or by mailing them to LIVE FOR LIFE at Box 3200.

Participating in Fit in 15? Please share your pictures and insights on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using #HealthyDuke. Or send your picture to working@duke.edu.