Hatchet Weightlifting Club’s Liftathon raises funds for Kinship, new weight room equipment

By Jalen Maki

Tomahawk Leader Editor

TOMAHAWK – The Hatchet Weightlifting Club recently banded together to raise funds for Kinship of Tomahawk, as well as for new weight room equipment.

This year marks the first full iteration of the “Liftathon” after last year’s inaugural fundraising effort was impeded by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Photos submitted by Andy Peissig.

Coach Andy Peissig explained that the concept of the Liftathon came to be when the recently-founded Hatchet Weightlifting Club, comprised  of about 30 students, decided they wanted to raise funds to add a fourth bench rack to the weight room. Along with purchasing new equipment, the club also wanted to help less fortunate kids in the community.

“(The members of the club) understand that they’re lucky enough to be able to lift, they’re lucky enough to get rides to and from school, they’re lucky enough to be in sports, and they understand that some of the other kids in the community aren’t as fortunate as they are,” Peissig stated. “So, they wanted to try and help some of those other children out.”

To raise funds, each club member obtained sponsors. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most sponsors were family and friends. However, the club was able to get commitments from three local corporate sponsors: Evans Concrete Construction, Steigerwaldt Land Services, and Pine Tree Supper Club.

Individual sponsors committed to donate a sum of money, such as two cents per pound, four cents per pound, or ten cents per pound. Donations were based on how many pounds the club lifted as a whole when they maxed out in bench press, squat, and clean each week.

The corporate sponsors committed to donations on a different scale. For example, if the club lifted a total of 5,000 pounds, a corporate sponsor would contribute $50. At 7,500 pounds, the sponsor would donate $100. A total of 10,000 pounds would earn $150, and the sponsor would donate $200 at 12,500 pounds.

The benchmarks served as great motivators for the club, Peissig noted.

The club is still working to collect the Liftathon’s raised funds. A portion of the proceeds will go to local youth mentorship program Kinship of Tomahawk.

“It was a neat thing to pull kids together,” Peissig stated. “They had a good mission.”

The club is looking to increase membership going forward, which it hopes will lead to the expansion of the Liftathon and increase its ability to raise funds for weight room improvements and community causes.