Nonprofit gym opens

Women and children who have been forced to choose necessities over fitness now have an alternative in Dorchester. Healthworks Fitness Center for Women held the grand opening for its new nonprofit facility Tuesday in Dorchester’s Codman Square.

The Codman Health Center worked with Healthworks Fitness Center and the Healthworks Foundation to bring the non-profit gym to the area, according to the Healthworks at Codman website. Membership fees are based on a sliding income scale, so people can pay from nothing to $30 a month, depending on their income.

‘We wanted to really make an impact on the community,’ Codman Health Center Board President Robert MacEachen. ‘We wanted to bring up the level of preventative medicine. I hope we see a systematic change in the community’s health.’

The center is primarily for the women and children of Dorchester, Healthworks Director of Development Joseph Burnieka said.

‘There are a lot of places where men go to work out where women just don’t feel safe,’ Burnieka said. ‘Healthworks is a place where women can go to be healthy and safe at the same time.’

Expanding in Dorchester’ would give members a chance to socialize with each other when they might not get the chance elsewhere, Program Manager for Aging and Senior Centers Emmett H. Schmarsow said.

Marketing and Communications Manager Kristen Lynch said even though they have not aggressively promoted the facility, there are nearly 500 members in the area.

‘ ‘This place gets known simply by word of mouth’ Lynch said. ‘Women come, and they like it, and the next time they come, they bring along some friends.’

The Codman Square Healthworks facility will also have a focus on children’s fitness,’ Children’s Fitness Programs Director Michael Peyron said.

‘It’s great to have the opportunity to work with kids, especially being a former second-grade teacher myself,’ Peyron said. ‘Working with the kids and seeing them have fun is the best reward.’

Healthworks CEO Mark Harrington said the foundation has been trying to put the Codman facility together for a long time.

‘We’ve been working with Codman Health Square and while we each use different ways, our end goal is still the same,’ Harrington said.

Harrington said he has had many rewarding experiences working on the facility, but one sticks out.

‘I was helping in a kid’s class when a heavy woman approached me, started crying, and then gave me a hug, saying, ‘Nobody has ever done anything like this for us. Thank you,” he said.

The story shows the real goal of the new facility is not just to let people with a low-income work out, Harrington said.

‘It’s also about bringing together a community where everyone is of the same standing. They’re all equal and worth the same,’ he said. ‘Healthworks is a warm, comfortable place where people want to be.’