These Malaysian Coaches Raised RM11,000 In 9 Days To Support Struggling Local Businesses
75% of all their funds raised go back to local businesses most affected by MCO.
By Tamara Jayne — 10 Apr 2020, 11:46 AM
A local gym in PJ is doing its best to support small struggling businesses by raising money through their online classes
Fitness guru Noel Chelliah, who runs a gym in Petaling Jaya called DailyMuscle, started the Heroes@Home programme to give back to businesses who are at risk of closing down during these trying times.
Since 1 April, he and his team have already raised RM11,000 by conducting online group fitness classes, where they provide real-time feedback and coaching - just like an actual class
They run their sessions on Zoom to be able to see how their clients are moving and to give feedback.
Although doing free Instagram live sessions is great publicity, Noel explained that they are unable to help someone move better or give them useful feedback to improve, so doing it through Zoom works better for them in this case.
The classes are run four times a day and are for all fitness levels to help people stay active during the MCO.
"It is a minimum donation of RM50 and you get access to participate in a live class, unlimited access to all recorded classes, nutrition coaching, and a thriving online community for accountability," Noel explained, adding that they've had people donate anywhere from RM50 up to RM1,000.
There are over 350 people on the programme right now. Each class can have up to 35 people. No equipment is required - all you need to do is to just show up with an open mind and a smile.
75% of all their funds raised go back to local businesses, especially those who are most affected right now
And the remaining 25% is set aside to pay their part-time coaches, who have now lost the opportunity to teach their regular in-person classes.
"While most gyms have no way of paying their part-timers now with the MCO, I wanted to make sure we could still take care of our team during this time... We're also still paying our cleaner even though she doesn't come in to do any cleaning. All her other employers have cut her pay - but we didn't want to," he shared.
"Our entire team is involved, some on the back-end, some are helping with accountability and coaching via email/WhatsApp, while Kim (my wife) and another team member Sharon are the ones coaching the virtual classes."
They are currently looking for more businesses that need help and are encouraging them to reach out to them by dropping a message on their Instagram
"You don't need to be a large company to qualify. For example, I pre-paid my barber for 10 haircuts, to help him during this season. Many workers are paid a very low basic salary and live on commissions," Noel told SAYS.
"We're not just buying 'product' but we prefer to give them cash upfront in return for a voucher that our participants can redeem after the MCO."
We need community more than ever today, to maintain physical distance - not socially distance ourselves.
If you would like to enquire more or take part in the programme, drop Noel a message on their Instagram here.
