The “Strike It Strong” charity event on January 21 was a big hit with 45 women raising money for a women’s shelter, while at the same time learning self-defense.

The idea of the “Strike it Strong” charity event was created by Nancy Sipera (President of First Impressions Marketing) and Cheryl Squadrito (President of Media Friendly PR), who wanted women to have the ability to gain confidence and learn to defend themselves through this event while at the same time raising money.

This is one of the many experiences led by Sipera and Squadrito that Cherry Hill Health and Racquet Club (CHHRC) offers to help empower women. CHHRC presents these opportunities to not only support women, but to also help them achieve confidence in their time there.

Women who walk into the club have the opportunity to go into their own secluded gym for only females. According to its website, CHHRC states that they know how hard it is for women to exercise when in an uncomfortable environment.

Many women struggle achieving their health goals while being around distractions. This separate gym lets all women have a more welcoming exercise environment. The club provides several classes that are created to help you lose weight, relieve stress and have fun.

“I’ve been going to the Health and Racquet Club for years and they have always given me a great environment and wonderful experiences,” Melanie Pedelrson (‘27) said.

The women’s fitness center contains free weights, weight machines and cardio equipment for any fitness or weight-loss program, including strength training, cardio training, circuit training and other forms of exercise.

The recent “Strike it Strong” event hosted at the CHHRC was made to help empower women of all ages and also learn about techniques to keep themselves safe.

The event raised about $1,700 for a Center For Family Services, a local nonprofit women’s shelter. There were also around 225 pieces of business attire for The Wardrobe, a nonprofit organization that works to eliminate clothing insecurity for those getting back into the workforce, collected at the event.

When asked how she got the idea for this event, Sipera said, “I have a friend who started taking karate lessons. I saw first-hand the impact it had on her confidence. I wanted to share that idea with other women.”

Sipera and Squadrito plan on creating another event to help support wom- en in the future.

“We have received many requests to do another self-defense workshop, so we may do that. We are planning our next event, which will focus on the topic ‘It’s Not Too Late’ — empower-
ing women to know that it’s never too late to attain their goals. We plan to turn this concept into a nonprofit organization, so as to be able to do more fundraising efforts.” Sipera said.

They encourage women who are interested to come to their workshops and charity events for more than just learning how to fight, but to also become a better version of themselves.