Sponsorship season for Dream Big 2019 is ON! I recently had the chance to ask Tyrone Irby of The Choice Performance Center and Angie Bersin of Redfin about why they choose to support Book Harvest. Here’s what they had to say. (Ready to join them and sponsor Dream Big 2019? Click here!)
Q: How did you learn about Book Harvest and Dream Big, and what made you decide to become a sponsor?
Angie: Dream Big is the ideal opportunity for us to get involved locally. We believe in quality education and service which is one of the reasons we decided to sponsor Book Harvest.
Tyrone: I have been training Book Harvest board member and volunteer Ann Leininger for over 5 years at our personal training studio in North Durham. Late last year I mentioned that we were looking to support local charities with our annual Bull City Squat Challenge, which is held in May of every year (2018 was the 3rd year of the event). Ann mentioned her involvement with Book Harvest, and the more I learned about it, the more I knew we should be involved with the organization.
As a kid growing up in Brooklyn, I loved to read. Starting with comic books, reading was my favorite “sport.” During the summer, I would visit the library once per week, and pick 10 books to read. I would read all of the books within seven days and come back for more the next week. My favorites were the classics: Nancy Drew, The Three Investigators, Encyclopedia Brown, and The Hardy Boys.
Reading kept me out of trouble in New York, but it also gave me a view of the rest of the world. To this day, I still read a lot. Now, it’s more newspapers, magazines, articles, and business books. Most clients will always see 1-2 books lying around on the desk that I am reading. When we opened the gym on December 7, 2015, we also installed a library with cookbooks, performance, and fitness books that includes well over 100 books.
Growing up, I also had a significant stuttering problem. Both reading books to myself and out loud helped me gain confidence in myself, and improved my ability to communicate with others.
Q: Can you tell me a little more about your company? How is engaging with community organizations like Book Harvest a priority for you?
Angie: Redfin is a technology-powered, residential real estate brokerage. We represent people buying and selling homes in over 80 markets throughout the United States. Our mission is to redefine real estate in the consumer’s favor. In a commission-driven industry, we put the customer first which is why community engagement is such a priority for us.
Tyrone: Our studio is not a commercial gym, it is a one on one personal training studio. We host strength training classes for runners three days per week also. Combining our client base and group class members, we see 70+ clients weekly. 50% of our client base have children.
Our model to support Book Harvest is multifaceted. Since our opening in 2015, our goal has always been to be part of the community and provide support where we can. As a wellness company, we look at not just physical wellness, but mental wellness as well. Our community events focus on both the physical and mental factors. Being involved with Book Harvest gives us a chance to build brand awareness for this non-profit organization to our clients.
We are so grateful to The Choice Performance Center and Redfin for dreaming big with us! If your company would like to join them and be among the first to support Dream Big 2019, pledge your support now!