LGBTQ+ Athletes Receive Fitness Scholarships from The OUT Foundation

It can be hard for many LGBTQ+ young adults to find a place where they feel comfortable participating in fitness.The OUT Foundation’s mission is to remove the barriers that block LGBTQ+ individuals’ access and participation in health, wellness, and fitness to ensure their success. In service of that mission, we launched the OUTAthlete Scholarship program to award year-long gym memberships to deserving LGBTQ+ applicants.“We are dedicated to nurturing, empowering, and celebrating LGBTQ+ bodies and minds to guarantee that our community thrives,” said Will Lanier, Executive Director of The OUT Foundation.  “We believe that being part of a healthy, supportive fitness environment is key to leading a healthy lifestyle, and that’s why we’re so proud to offer these scholarships to deserving young people.”The OUT Foundation works closely with our scholarship recipients to provide weekly goal coaching and nutrition counseling through Brave Fitness, three months of healthy meals from Kettlebell Kitchen, apparel from RYUand BeastWorx, and footwear from NoBullto set our OUTAthletes up for success.“Two close friends of mine are members of a local CrossFit, and they invited me to try a few of their beginner classes. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t immediately love the workouts and people there but, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to join due to a membership being much pricier than my local membership,” said OUTAthlete scholarship recipient Chloe Ramjohn. “With the encouragement of my friends, I applied and was chosen as a recipient of an OUTAthlete scholarship this year and I’m now CrossFitting 3-4 times a week!”This program would not be possible without the local gyms that have partnered with us to make their communities accessible to our scholarship recipients.  We want to thank CrossFit Hell’s Kitchen, CrossFit Clintonville, Vault CrossFit, CrossFit Encino, CrossFit Rise, CrossFit of Ithaca, CrossFit Exile, CrossFit Palm Beach, and CrossFit Lilburn 678 for being examples of the generosity and inclusivity of fitness.“CrossFit Rise has always been an inclusive facility, and we couldn't be more excited to have the opportunity to show our support of the LGBTQ+ community through the OUTAthlete Scholarship Program,” said Owner Karah Ehrhardt. “Working alongside our OUTAthlete, Chloe, to provide her the community and fitness foundation she needs is something very special to us. We have loved working with The OUT Foundation and look forward to the endless possibilities of such a wonderful partnership.”The OUT Foundation accepts applications for OUTAthlete scholarships twice per year. Learn more about this program and the work of The OUT Foundation at www.iamout.org/outathlete.