Fitness For a Cause

How Paul Burkert, the founder of CrossFit Lake Effect, creates positive change in the community.

In 2016, two years after Paul Burkert opened CrossFit Lake Effect, one of his members attended a rowing fundraiser put on by Sam Dancer to benefit the Special Olympics.

Sam is a well-known CrossFit athlete dedicated to providing access to fitness for people with disabilities. The event was held at QTown CrossFit in Quincy, Illinois and consisted of team and adaptive athletes competing in a full marathon row event.

The CrossFit Lake Effect member and his wife attended the event because they ran a house for adults with special needs, and when they came back to their own gym they asked if they could also do a fundraiser. They’d already talked to the Special Olympics, who were on board, and had picked a date.

Paul agreed immediately, but there was just one issue.

They only had five weeks to plan and organize the event and promote it to the community.

CrossFit Lake Effect’s Row for Dough

In that short amount of time, Paul and the Crossfit Lake Effect team put together an event they called Row for Dough, in which teams of ten work together to row a marathon, with all the proceeds going toward a local Special Olympics chapter.

They gathered items from local companies for a raffle and silent auction, then found judges and participants.

Jason Pierce was one of the organizers of the event that year.

"It's all about giving everyone a chance to play sports," Jason told a local news outlet at the time, adding, "We want to give people the opportunity to not only play sports, but also, to have dignity in sports – we want them to have uniforms and decent equipment."

Despite the time crunch, the event was a success and they raised $25,000 in one day.

Paul was so inspired by the experience he gathered some people from the gym and established a board. Together, they created a 501c3 nonprofit called Giving Back West Michigan.

“The idea is that we are a charity that gives to other charities,” Paul said.

In addition to the local Special Olympics Chapter, Giving Back West Michigan has donated to an advocacy group to help abused children and an organization that provides families with food, clothing, and shelter, among others.

“Typically we try to do it through some type of rowing event where mass participation can occur and you're doing something physical as well,” Paul said.

They have put on about eight of these events since 2016. They are typically around Halloween, so people can wear costumes as they row. While they’ve always taken a lighthearted approach to the competition, the fundraiser portion is organized and serious.

“Typically most years we brought in right around the $30,000 mark,” Paul said.

Giving Back

The dedication to running these nonprofit events speaks to Paul’s motivation for running a gym. CrossFit Lake Effect deliberately doesn’t make a profit – Paul has a full-time corporate job – its purpose is to improve the lives of people in the community.

“If you're going to do something like this, like, you have to have a little bit deeper passion towards it,” Paul said.

Paul has a similar attitude when it comes to the importance of fitness. It’s not only about looking good or feeling fit in the moment.

“It’s about longevity and it's about making sure that you're serving somebody other than yourself,” he said.

About Author, Hilary Achauer

Hilary is a renowned fitness business writer, marketing content writer, and journalist. She’s written content for start-ups, entrepreneurs, executive coaches, wellness providers, gyms, and CrossFit. Her focus is always on telling the best story with a clear, compelling style and being able to engage readers, bring in new customers, or build an audience.