EASTON, Pa. – Planet Fitness is supporting firefighters and police officers’ fitness and wellness, one weight at a time.<\/p>\n
“There is a lot of purple in here,” said Lower Saucon Township Police Lt. Chris Leidy.<\/p>\n
There certainly was, and it stretches across Northampton County, right into two brand new gyms for local first responders.<\/p>\n
“It’s shiny. It’s in very good condition,” said Leidy. “We’re grateful, very grateful.”<\/p>\n
“It fits perfectly,” said Easton Firefighter Kevin Sciba.<\/p>\n
Nearly one year ago, Easton Police filled their department’s gym with all of the resources for officers to prioritize their health.<\/p>\n
Now, it’s Easton Firefighters and Lower Saucon Township Police officers’ turn.<\/p>\n
Triple the weights, dumbbells, row machines, and more.<\/p>\n
“This is literally thousands of dollars worth of equipment,” said Leidy.<\/p>\n
It’s all thanks to Planet Fitness Community Coordinator Milan Dalsania and his team.<\/p>\n
“I explained to [Dalsania] the need for our equipment to be replaced, and he came down to the police department. We met in the gym. He looked over the equipment and said that he’d be able to provide some equipment for us,” said Leidy.<\/p>\n
Planet Fitness crews re-equipped the Mt. Pocono gym location, and all of the pieces fell into place for the previous equipment to make its way to Easton and Lower Saucon Township in September.<\/p>\n
“This is what we wanted to do,” said Dalsania.<\/p>\n
Since last year, Dalsania said 13 law enforcement departments have inquired about available equipment.<\/p>\n
“We want to fulfill them. Our goal is to [help] whoever is in need,” said Dalsania. “A lot of police departments, fire departments: they put a lot of energy, heart into this.”<\/p>\n
“Everything about firefighting goes back to strength,” said Sciba.<\/p>\n
Sciba said equipment has been donated to Easton firehouses on North 6th Street and College Hill.<\/p>\n
“Everyone’s loved it,” said Sciba. “We’re here for 24 hours at a time. Having like ‘real’ equipment that we can use has really helped get people back in here working out, and continues to motivate us every day to try and improve ourselves.”<\/p>\n
Leidy said the gym and energy inside police headquarters is just as full.<\/p>\n
“The wellness and fitness of our officers are very important,” said Leidy. “They do work 12-hour shifts. We’re trying to encourage them to make it easier for them to work out. For them to be able to do it before or after shift, it’s very important.”<\/p>\n
The first responders also wanted to give back with a special plaque to the fitness team that started it all.<\/p>\n
“It’s definitely heartwarming to receive it,” said Dalsania. “I’ll show it off. Absolutely.”<\/p>\n
Dalsania said his team is working to donate more equipment to the departments that inquired in the near future.<\/p>\n
“The list is still long enough, and we are definitely trying,” said Dalsania. “We just want to help our own local community. This is really out of passion.”<\/p>\n