Look for bootcamp in the park and a new sticker challenge in June. 
Here are a few highlights of activities  in May.
Contact newsletter editor Sarah Kappos with content suggestions ([email protected]) 
Looking to get Involved? Check out our Calendar.
Spotlight:  Francisca Blanc 
      and FTR/NAMI Hike

Next month Francisca (far right) will celebrate one year of sobriety and service with Fit To Recover. She came to join our community last year during a hike she organized for NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) to celebrate the life of Nicholas Zurn.  As they always do, FTR members showed up ready to sweat. A kinship was instantly formed while hiking and swapping stories with FTR member Rachel Santizo. Francisca was hooked and her own recovery began.

Since that day, she has been a priceless asset to FTR with her knowledge of non-profit organizations and grant funding resources. Francisca is a bold woman who will not hesitate to speak out against unfairness she sees, and to advocate for more resources for mental health and treatment for substance misuse.

On May 14th that original hike was replicated. Led by Francisca, approximately 50 people hiked the Butler Fork Trail in Big Cottonwood Canyon. The group represented all ages with the youngest hiker coming in at 3 years old, and riding mostly on daddy's shoulders.  Families and friends stood together at the top to reflect on their new found strength and freedom.
Art Piece Donated to VOA's New Teen Shelter
 
On May 24th, the VOA (Volunteers of America) hosted the grand opening of its Homeless Youth Resource Center to an overflowing crowd of supporters  The center is a dream which has been five years in the making. Members of Fit To Recover were among hundreds of volunteers who worked to make the Center an inspiring space.
 
Hanging in the cafeteria is a 4x8 foot painting facilitated by our Artist-in-residence, Sarah Kappos (pictured here with her son Beckam and FTR's Rachel Santizo).  Sarah is thrilled to see the FTR
community represented by such a powerful image. 

She is looking forward to creating more art work for donation to the community with FTR classes in Creative Expression and an ongoing partnership with VOA.
60 Day Challenge    
All you need is your body to exercise, right? 
Well this challenge will put that to the test. For this challenge, all you have to do is participate. As soon as you skip a day, challenge over.  Only five dollars to buy in and get a t-shirt at the end. There are no make-up days. Here's the schedule:
Day 1: Complete 1 chin-up, 1 push-up, 1 retro-lunge (each leg).
Day 2: 2 reps each...complete and repeat until you reach 60 days.

If the three exercises don't work for you, ask James about modifications. This challenge is based on your integrity. When you're in, you're in, and when you're out, you're out.  
Food & Mood Workshop Follows First Outdoor Bootcamp 
 
We had our first sunny workout in Sugar House Park on June 4th, followed by by a Food and Mood workshop hosted by FTR's Food To Recover. Rachel Santizo did an excellent job of leading the bootcamp in the familiar workout of running full sprint up the grassy hill, and working with partners on ground exercises. After the bootcamp, Food To Recover's Stephanie Roque and Allana Kerr got creative in their delivery of nutrition information.

Attendees learned about specific nutrients and foods (that were written on the soccer ball that got kicked around) that research suggests has an impact on our mood. After discussing the impact of food on mood, we
discussed the impact of mood on food choices - those made when you're stressed or sleep deprived. The workshop ended with an activity intended to develop Mindful Eating skills as a method of cultivating a positive relationship with food, encouraging attendees to use all of the senses when eating, and appreciating the nourishment that is provided by food at each and every meal. Keep an eye out for our future nutrition workshops that are all completely free of charge to members of FTR!
FTR Board changes

It is with equal parts sadness and gratitude that FTR bids farewell to board member Mary Jo McMillen, executive director of USARA ( Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness) and founding member of the FTR board. Her two-year tenure at FTR was marked by rapid growth and the development of strong ties within the recovery community. Thanks for giving your all to FTR to get it up and running smoothly, Mary Jo, and for being our loudest and most important cheerleader in the very early days. We will miss you on the board but will continue to partner with USARA on important advocacy efforts to benefit all Utahns in recovery.

Back four years, even before bootcamps in the park, Fit To Recover's first step to becoming a nonprofit was to meet with Salt Lake City's SCORE chapter. And what great fortune it was to meet Doug McNeil, who had recently retired from Interwest Business Group -- a full service tax, accounting, and business valuation firm he owned for 29 years -- sitting across the table. Doug took on FTR as a consultant that day, and stuck with us all these years. We welcome Doug to the FTR board not only for his experience and dedication, but for bringing his DYNAMITE brand of enthusiasm with him everywhere he goes.
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Special thanks to our Champion donors:
The George S. and Dolores D. Eccles Foundation
The Sorenson Legacy Foundation
Cold Creek Behavioral Health
Elevated Billing
Nicholas Zurn Scholarship Fund
Petzl Foundation
United Way of Salt Lake
 
And to our Recovery Wall Partners!
Ascend Recovery  - Renaissance Ranch Outpatient - Turning Point - Salt Lake County Youth Services - Strong Hope/Salt Lake Behavioral Health - Wounded Warrior Project

 
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