Stephanie wears many hats, but in this space you will see Stephanie as a runner, run coach, yoga practitioner, and yoga teacher. The labels are still simplistic in capturing the wholeness of being, but we start with one word, one step, and one breath.
Inspiration
Founder Stephanie Diaz speaking to attendees of the 2019 Girls Empowerment Health Fair at Young Women’s Prep in Miami, FL.
The establishment of Empowered Through Fitness was inspired by founder Stephanie Diaz’s observations of elite women runners during a race and high school girls during a PE class. With the elite runners, Stephanie noticed how strong and confident each woman was before, during, and after their races. With the high schoolers, Stephanie noticed the girls were hesitant to fully engage in running activities during the class because they were fidgeting with their sports bras. The question became “What can be done to support and encourage all girls to be confident in their bodies like those elite runners?”
This question led to the “Girls Empowerment Health Fair,” a day dedicated to celebrating girls and everything that makes being a girl awesome. During the Fair, girls receive an "Empowered Bag" with a sports bra, period kit, and literature related to female health-related issues. They also obtain access to community resources, including panel discussions from community leaders aimed to empower the girls through knowledge and experience, to embrace their uniqueness, and to explore the benefits of an active lifestyle. One of the goals of the Girls Empowerment Health Fair is to normalize what girls go through by creating space for movement and conversation around female health and development.
Since the founding of Empowered Through Fitness, three Fairs have been offered to girls in the Miami-Dade County Public School System and at Chapman Partnership, a local homeless shelter, with a reach of 250 middle school age girls.
That initial question also led to the creation of "Empowered TRY," our effort to bring different movement modalities into communities that might not ordinarily have the opportunity to try fitness classes due to access issues. Currently, Empowered Through Fitness offers a free fitness class one a month to girls ages 8 and up at Chapman Partnership.
Our motto, "Empowered Girls Grow Into Empowered Women" guides us in the work that we do and the goals we hope to accomplish in inspiring girls to become active and grow into confident women.
Updated 2021 Mission Statement:
Empowered Through Fitness is a charity founded in 2018 with the mission of providing community members with tools and resources to establish and maintain mindful, healthy, and active lives.
Empowered Through Fitness, Inc is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 Florida organization, Tax I.D. #82-4929044. For more information, contact Stephanie at stephanie@empoweredthroughfitness.org