Sweat Equity is no stranger to a March Madness challenge. Based off the basketball March Madness bracket style competition, Sweat Equity encourages its members to form sixteen teams of four. The annual competition began six years ago in their original Bellevue, Washington location and has been a hit in the years since.
Teams of four compete against each other and the teams with the most points move on to the next round. There will be four rounds including the Championship. Teams earn points by attending workouts, completing physical challenges, and… spreading kindness! Sweat Equity Owner, Nick Merrill, shares, “it takes people out of their comfort zone both inside and outside of the gym. Coronado is such a great place and these random acts of kindness make Coronado even nicer!” Some examples of past kindness activities include: buying a stranger’s coffee shop drink, taking in the neighbor’s garbage, filling up someone’s expired parking meter, bringing treats to the local firemen, and so on. Nick smiles, “Our members are great people. This helps them make new conversations, and makes everyone feel good.”
Every team will have the same kindness activity per round, and Nick will accept photo proof. Nick laughs as he shares the Bellevue location’s great kindness activity. “The championship was a canned food donation and so many people got involved. At the end they had 2,000 pounds of food!” The kindness extends past the little moments. At a $25 entry fee, the winning team uses the pot at the end to donate the funds to their favorite local charity!
Sweat Equity will be celebrating two years open this May. Nick informs that, “it has been going great! People even showed up in the rain this morning. We’ve become part of the community. There are still people who have been around and are just now coming in and saying, ‘I can’t believe I hadn’t tried this!'”
You do not need to be a Sweat Equity member to spread your own kindness! Coronado has proven itself as a community of kindness time and time again. You can join in on the rock painting and hiding fun, donate to one of the many little libraries as a good way to share a love for books with others, Coronado Rotary has a beach cleanup the second Saturday of every month at 8am, all are welcome to join! Or take a page out of Sweat Equity’s book with direct human connection acts of kindness.
