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By Iris Hersey

West Point Vision, a local nonprofit, hosted its second monthly Family Fitness event Saturday at the 602 Building, which is a part of the West Point Recreation Center. The event had two instructors that put on workout sessions. James “Boomer” Harris led the adults, while Chontia Sheffield led the children.

Shabre Lovelace, a member of West Point Vision, said this event was created to help the West Point community focus on fitness in a fun way.

“One of the main things that we want to do is service our community where we see there’s a need,” Lovelace said. “I feel like mental and physical health is one thing that everybody in our community can benefit from.”

Lovelace said the group had a good turnout for the event, but they hope to see more community involvement and expand the program in the future.

“We had a good amount of people there I would say. It was like 10 to 12 people there this past week and we had like five or six kids there,” Lovelace said. “It’s one of our community service events that we started last month. We’re going to try to do it at least once a month and if it catches on, maybe more.”

Audrey Gilliam, the President of West Point Vision, said they hope to expand the services of the nonprofit from its initial purpose in 2017.

“Our plans for the nonprofit are to continue to provide community events for all citizens of West Point, not just a particular community or area,” Gilliam said. “We’re also planning a community breakfast for all citizens of West Point. That’s going to be Dec. 11.”

Even amidst the pandemic last year when their events were on hold, Gilliam said that the group still continued to help their community.

“We did not have any events [during] the pandemic … We handed out masks, hand sanitizer, food boxes, [and] hot soup with crackers,” Gilliam said. “We put we built a handicap ramp for a citizen. We donated to various projects throughout the community and volunteered our time.”

If interested in learning more about West Point Vision or attending an event, check out their Facebook or Snapchat.