In 2005, husband and wife team Josh and Erin Guerrieri taught and coached in the city schools of Atlanta. Besides a lack of resources in the schools, what was most alarming was the absence of a positive peer community.  For anyone growing up playing sports, this community is familiar – teammates and coaches that encourage you, push you, count on you and believe in you.  But if you didn’t play a sport? Out of luck and out of community?  Josh and Erin sought to fill this gap by running after-school fitness(Fit) and tutoring (Wit) classes for their students.  They created a place to meet new people, do a little fitness and build relationships.  The FitWit Foundation was born.

While FitWit launched new programs for students, it also began molding its defining program, the adult fitness camp. These early fitness camps evolved into what is now the groundbreaking FitWit® training program devoted to variety, community, and measured progress for all fitness levels. As FitWit grew, Josh and Erin aspired to remain true to their original vision of helping underserved students be healthy and successful. In 2008, with the help of friend and former college teammate, Ben Thoele, they created The FitWit Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation in Atlanta, Georgia.

From 2008-2013, Ben led The FitWit Foundation in carrying out its mission, of providing Fit Teens in a variety of location throughout Atlanta. Locations have included: Atlanta Public Schools, City Schools of Decatur, The Boys & Girls Clubs of Atlanta and Zoo Atlanta. With a desire to expand and reach more students, a new program model was established, which is now called FitWit Club.

FitWit Club is a school club led by a FitWit trained school staff advisor, designed for students not involved in sports, that exposes them to dynamic workouts, character development, and community. The fitness program is designed to accommodate all fitness levels in a non-competitive environment.  The FitWit Foundation sponsors all FitWit Clubs, providing school club advisors with curriculum, annual training, stipends (when available), supplies, access to volunteers, guest trainers, and continual support for the program and participants.

Every participant in FitWit Club has improved his or her fitness ability. Our average improvement in fitness ability across all participants is 46%. However, that is just the beginning of what the kids gain. Through fitness, our kids earn a sense of self pride and confidence in their abilities, so that, whatever their station in life, they have the ability to set a goal and work hard to achieve it, this is the true value of FitWit Club.