The nation’s largest collegiate wellness organization will launch a chapter at Penn this fall.
Changing Health Attitudes + Actions to Recreate Girls announced its expansion on Monday via a statement posted to Instagram. The organization, which aims to “empower” college women to feel “comfortable & confident” in the gym, currently hosts over 100 chapters at universities nationwide.
In an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian, College first year and Penn CHAARG founding member Simone Nied explained that the Penn chapter will offer weekly group fitness classes, as well as social events and outdoor retreats.
Nied described CHAARG as an alternative to Penn’s “competitive club culture,” emphasizing that it is “a very inclusive community” where “anyone with any fitness level can basically join.”
She added that her desire to get involved with CHAARG stemmed from a longtime love for fitness.
“I’ve always had that community of female athletes surrounding me, and I kind of missed that when coming to Penn,” Nied said. “I felt like CHAARG would be a perfect fit for all the people who want to still be involved in athletics casually or people who are just starting out and want to go into sports.”
Nied explained that the group plans to take members to several professionally-led weekly workout classes — including barre, yoga, Pilates, high-intensity interval training, and boxing studios. CHAARG will also offer “more coordinated, sporadic” small group exercises.
Penn’s CHAARG chapter will accept applications for its executive board from April 12 to April 19.
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One position, according to Nied, will be a “bank coordinator,” responsible for coordinating and booking studios each week. Members will pay dues of $62 per semester — a price consistent across all CHAARG chapters. She added that students who cannot afford dues can apply for financial assistance.
“I don’t want there to be a barrier,” Nied said. “Everyone should be able to join CHAARG if they want to, regardless of income.”
College sophomore and Penn CHAARG founding member Alex Schuster added that the organization is designed to “build a community of people who want to get into lifting or enjoy lifting, specifically women,” and to help them “feel more comfortable in the gym.”
“My aunt got me into lifting, and I want to be that person to get other girls into lifting,” Schuster said. “I think it’s something that’s amazing, but also daunting, because it’s primarily viewed as an all male thing.”
In a statement to the DP, College first year and Penn CHAARG founding member Olivia DeShong wrote that she has “really benefitted” from Nied introducing her to CHAARG.
“We felt that girls on campus would really enjoy a group like CHAARG since sometimes going to the gym alone can feel intimidating,” DeShong wrote. “It empowers girls to feel more comfortable and confident in the gym.”
Nied emphasized that while most CHAARG members identify as female, the organization is open to anyone seeking a “good community” — a sentiment DeShong echoed.
“Penn students should join because there are so many workout opportunities and classes in Philadelphia to look forward to and a great, supportive group of girls we’re building,” DeShong wrote.
Interested students can find the organization’s interest form through its Instagram page.
