October 12, 2005
Agency receives big lift
Lift for Kids raises more than $4,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Lifting cumulatively tons of weight, 18 weightlifters from the region raised just over $4,000 for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwestern Michigan during the Eighth Annual Lift for Kids.
Held Saturday afternoon at the Grand Traverse Mall, the event allowed each lifter three bench presses as many strove for their personal best.
"Even the 140 was a max lift for me," said Megan Barnes of Traverse City after struggling with 145 pounds on her second lift. "So it was a little dicey trying to go up."
A first-time participant in the Lift for Kids, Barnes has been lifting weights for 20 years and trains at Fit For You. She said the sport offers a range of benefits that draws people of all ages - seniors, especially, are a growing presence in gyms.
"It builds strength and it's just very good at keeping away cardiovascular disease and diabetes," she said. "You can tailor workouts to either build muscles or lean out."
The funds raised Saturday were targeted for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwestern Michigan matches in Grand Traverse, Kalkaska and Antrim counties. The organization covers a ten-county region and another Lift for Kids was held in Petoskey on Saturday to aid kids in that region.
While numbers vary throughout the year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwestern Michigan helps an estimated 500 kids in schools and throughout the community. A waiting list, which peaked at 200 last year, has 100 kids hoping for a match with a mentor. Funds from events such as Lift for Kids can help bridge that gap.
"I think that people aren't always aware of the support needs for the many children we have waiting," said Mary Sue Christian, executive director.
A national program, Christian said that the Big Brothers Big Sisters' name recognition sometimes has a downside.
"We do enjoy really good awareness, nationally it's one of the best known child service agencies in the nation," she noted. "And locally the same, too. But I think people think we get funding from so many sources that we don't need more, and grant money is drying up, too. So events like this are so important."
The event drew weightlifters from a number of area gyms but organizers Jeff and Vern Gauthier, owners of Fit For You, brought 14 of the 18 participants. The brothers participated themselves, as well as Vern Gauthier's daughter, Leah, 10, who pressed 60 pounds.
The pair began the Lift for Kids in 1997 by doing all the heavy lifting themselves - literally. They both lifted their body weights as many times as they could, raising money through pledges people made per number of times. They raised $8,000 that first year, noting that most people thought they could do just a few lifts. Many pledgers were surprised when their balance quickly zoomed up as the Gauthiers trounced expectations.
"We actually were going to sponsor a child first, one of the kids from Big Brothers Big Sisters," Vern Gauthier recalled. "We decided to try and make it fun and make more money for them."
They expanded the format to include other lifters the next year and a fundraising institution was born.
This year's event featured two exhibitions of focused strength, with one man lifting the equivalent of 'a filled refrigerator,' as one spectator put it. Ralph Soffredine lifted more than 400 pounds while his son-in-law, Bob Lipinski, topped out at 600 on his third lift.
Two Kalkaska High School sophomores, David Chalker and Brent Pettigrew, were among the lifters Saturday. The three-sport athletes already lift weights as part of their training but wanted to test themselves in competition.
"This is the first time I've done this event," said Pettigrew, whose friend Chalker participated last year. "Seeing how much people do makes me want to lift some more."