Leaders of a unique new outdoor community event want you to find some new ways to break a sweat – or get fit – to help stamp out domestic violence – or force.

The first-ever Fit Against Force event will be held 11am-4 pm on Saturday May 3 at the UI’s Grant Field, just west of the UI Hall of Fame on the far west campus. A $17 pre-registration fee (or $20 the day of) allows you to attend any or all of the following group fitness class demonstrations: Zumba (11:40 am-12:20 pm), Les Mills CX WORX (1:20pm-1:50pm), Yoga Stretch/Flow (2:40pm-3:30pm), Les Mills GRIT cardio (2:00pm-2:30pm), and Les Mills BodyAttack (12:30pm-1:10pm).

Iowa College of Pharmacy students, in a smaller community called Teeters, are organizing the event. The event was the brainchild of second-year pharmacy student Chelsea Goldsmith, who serves as the Philanthropy Chair of Teeters’ Executive Board. She is also a group fitness instructor at the North Dodge Athletic Club in Iowa City.

“I’m passionate about group fitness, which can motivate people in a way that individual sports cannot,” Goldsmith said. “I am excited to serve on the Executive Board of Teeters and to be part of making its first-ever philanthropy event come to life for a great cause.”

Goldsmith created the event’s logo, which creatively turns the “F” in “Fit” into a stick person kicking its leg, workout-style. She credits Teeters’ Mayor Natalie Blaine with coming up with the event’s catchy name. Prizes will be raffled off, and everyone gets a registration bag of goodies.

Volunteer instructors come from three local gyms: the North Dodge Athletic Club; Performance Health & Fitness, Coralville; and Core Fitness, Iowa City and North Liberty. Major donors are the College of Pharmacy, the University of Iowa Community Credit Union, Scheels, and Hills Bank.

All pharmacy student community groups partner with a similar student learning community in the Carver College of Medicine for networking and philanthropy. Teeters’ sister community – McCowen – hosts an annual DVIP Bench Press Competition, and Fit Against Force proceeds will add to what its partners earn for DVIP annually.

100 percent of the event’s admission costs go to DVIP, which supports victims and survivors of domestic violence and their loved ones in Johnson, Iowa, Cedar, Des Moines, Henry, Lee, Keokuk, Van Buren and Washington Counties. Each year, DVIP answers roughly 18,000 crisis phone calls and provides more than 8,000 nights of safe shelter.

Click here to register or get more details about specific classes, or visit the event’s Facebook page.