Art of Fitness 11-1-2026

What is the matrix of mental health and how can people escape it? Well, we're going to get some answers to that, I think, this morning. Tracy Blake is the director of community outreach as part of a non-profit called Art of Fitness, which is presenting an event on November 7th. Jessica Williams is the founder and president of Art of Fitness. They are here in the studio to tell us about it. Let me just mention a few things about the event. It's November 7th from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Eagle Event Center in Fall River. On North Main Street still? Is that where that is? Okay. Okay. Ms. Blake is here to explain what it's all about along with Jessica Williams. So welcome to you both and thank you for coming in. Thank you so much for having us. We're excited to be here. Alright, for those who may be hearing about the Art of Fitness for the first time, tell us about your organization and its mission. We'll start with Jessica. The Art of Fitness is our federally recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit, and we raise money for mental health awareness. And we do this through fitness, nutrition, and art. And with these funds, we're helping reduce stigma. And we are really bringing our four corners of mental health awareness, which Tracy can talk to you more about. On an individual basis, we have self-care, positive communication, and we have nutrition. We want to talk about healthy foods, and we want to talk about movement. So we're bringing mental health advocacy to the communities through community outreach, performance events, and just overall healthy wellness. Tracy, this is not your first rodeo. I mean, you've been doing this for a while now. Yes, absolutely. We've actually been doing this since 2019. And since then, we've had over 200 performers and volunteers that have helped us raise $20,000 for 12 organizations. We've focused on different aspects of mental health. In 2024, we focused on veterans' mental health, And we were able to. support the Fall River Veterans Kitchen which they were immediately able to use our funds for feeding the local veterans. We also supported the Bristol Community College Student Veterans Association and helped send two students to their national conference. 2023 our focus was LGBTQ. We donated to the Trevor Foundation. Also, PFLAG and Providence were able to use their funds to print pamphlets. They support parents and families of people in the community. And also, Youth Pride, and it was really great to work with them. They were able to use the funds for their gender-affirming closet. 2022, because we've been doing this for a long time, was our first year that we really focused on mental health. And our event was focused on youth mental health. And we're able to donate to an organization called PPAL, which is Parents and Professional Advocacy. And they played a vital role in changing the mental health access laws for youth. Your upcoming fundraiser is titled Escape the Matrix. Yes. Sounds like the title of a movie. Yes. We all have our own individual movies. What does it mean? So escaping the matrix really makes you look about around yourself in your circle, right? You want to start at the top and say, okay, what is it within me? Am I good? What do I need? Do I need? To go on to the next step, because I've taken care of my self-care, then I need to talk about positive communications. Where am I hearing my information from? Who am I really looking for as my mentor, whether it be looking at somebody personally in life or maybe an organization that you're helping out with? And I think that's like the art of fitness for me is why I started it because I wanted to have a voice and this is the way for me to be able to speak about this. And, you know, that's part of my mental health four corners. And then you move on to healthy nutrition. And with, you know, being a chef and also a registered dietetic technician, I can bring that to the table. I've been learning, like, really focused on that, you know, being a teen. And I've been studying this my whole life so I can help with those youth programs and things like that. You know, and then moving on, movement is the art of fitness. The movement is the matrix that we will be having on November 7th. So if you'd like to learn more about the movement part of the matrix, please come and see that. It's all about fitness and, you know, performing and like really using, our performers are using their voices to help part of their mental health circle, which Tracy can talk more about too as well. All of you are. causes, if you will, that you've helped over the years, it's really, there's a mental health tie into all of them. Why mental health? There's a lot of causes that are around today. Why did you feel that mental health was? I think we can both speak on that. So as far as the art of fitness is part, You know, that's how Tracy and I met. I started Cat Studio, which was one of our sponsors that we can talk about more. And with that, we kind of started, we wanted to create this bridge. And of mental health awareness and like that's how it started. And Tracy, how did Tracy. So it's very personal. So for me, mental health is a very personal topic. I had a child who struggled with emotional dysregulation and the systems were very difficult to navigate. It It was very trying on our family, was and I had made a promise that when my family was stabilized that I would advocate you and bring information to others to help them through the systems. And so that's really why we created the mental health matrix this year, very because really there are separate pillars that all work interchangeably as a system. much. So when we looked at that, we felt that there were four segments, identities and social pressures. So, you know, who you see yourself as, systematic barriers, like policies that get in the way and then basic needs, you know, looking at needing housing, needing food and then specific mental health challenges. And when you think about all of these pillars, they all work together. So if you're identifying as a minority, it may be harder to get housing. If you don't have basic needs like food, it has an effect on your mental health. So when you look at this, it's a system. So why we chose mental health is because everybody's human, everyone has a brain, and everything in society and our environment affects mental health and vice versa. So we are the movement that's pushing the community together. Um, What can folks expect to see when they walk into the Eagle Event Center on November 7th? When they walk into the Eagle Event Center, they will be brought into the Matrix. We have over 22 performers, all from novice up to world award winning, and there'll be an array of aerial fitness, of pole fitness, there'll be belly dance, there'll be international dance. We're really taking movement and telling stories. We've asked every performer this year to pick a different organization that is really special for their mental health matrix, their Four Corners. And, uh... That performance will speak to that. And they actually are raising money for their organization. So that was new this year. We asked each performer to do that. So they've been just out in the community just raising awareness. So their performance will show that. We'll have farm to... Farm to Sandwich Catering, which they're a local company out of here, Rhode Island. We're going to have complimentary savory and sweet treats throughout the night. There's 30-minute intermissions where everybody can come and have some custom mocktails, signature drinks. It's just a really good time for a good cause. So it's a fun night out. Yes, we have merch. There's a serious purpose here. Get your Art of Fitness limited edition T-shirts and programs. We have a 40-page program. We can just go on and on. It is a very fun event. I think that people don't realize what they're walking into, how powerful it's going to be, how entertaining it's going to be. I mean, we have performers from... pole fitness to aerial think of Cirque du Soleil. We have belly dancers, we have group performances. And as just said, there, you know, we have we have high quality foods. Yes, yes. And not only do we have this amazing event at the Eagle, the doors open at 4:30. The event is five to eight. We've also really are so strongly wanting to make community connections that there is a brand new lounge, if you haven't heard, on Prospect Street. We're already talking about the after party. Yes. So not only do we have an event, we also have an after party at the Hive directly behind the Eagle. You don't have to move your car. Yes. And they're brand new, and we wanted to bring them into our community. And they have been so gracious to host this, not only host it, but they will be donating 15% of proceeds. So come to the show. Come to the after hours. You will be very entertained. How do people get tickets? You can go right on our website, the art of fitness with two F's, A-R-T-O-F. F-I-T-N-E-S-S dot org. And you can get tickets that way. You can follow us on social media, the Art of Fitness Inc. or on Facebook or on Instagram. Thank you, Graham. You know, come find us. Come here. You can scan the QR code. All right. You're listening to Town Square Sunday. I'm Jim Phillips. My guest is Tracy Blake and Jessica Williams. The Art of Fitness Incorporated, they're staging a fundraiser November 7th at the Eagle Events Center in Fall River. Your goal, at least the initial goal, was to raise $10,000. I'm sure you hope to do that. But also, you've had a tremendous year raising funds. Thank you. Absolutely. So, to date, we have raised over $20,000. So, we will definitely be able to hit our goal of donating at least $10,000 to this year's four major beneficiaries. And it's not just about our donations. It's about building community with these organizations. So just like we have four pillars of mental health, we have four beneficiaries. Four. Great, I'm so glad you asked that. So our identity and social pressure beneficiary is called World Without Exploitation. They work to end human trafficking and commercial sex exploitation through survivor center advocacy, education and policy reform. Then in our systematic barriers, we have corporate accountability. Their mission is to stop Corporations from harming democracy, human rights, and the planet, shifting power from corporations back to people. Basic needs, we have a local beneficiary, our sister school, located right in New Bedford. They offer tuition-free education that empowers underserved middle school students through academics, but also gives them leadership skills and a supportive community. And then for our specific mental health challenges is to write love on her arms, which helps people who are struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. That organization, four of our performers have chosen that also as their personal organization to raise funds for. But as we said, it's much more about, as much about building a community as it is donating We're hoping to continue partnerships with these organizations, like Corporate Accountability. We've also talked about collaborating in the future with Jess's Nutrition and talking about food insecurities. Putting together 20 performances, more than 20 acts, if you will, sounds like a big undertaking. How long has this been in the planning stage, and who are the people making it all happen? I'm probably looking at two of them now, but, uh, you, we can go all the way back in time to 2019. It was just a girl with a dream and owning a business as an entrepreneur and just wanting to like, give back to the community. Like that's the number one rule in business. Like you do something. And I was like, the more guests and clients I met were talking about mental health and, you know, medical struggles and all of the, you know, the four corners of the needs. And, you know, that's how I. Met Tracy, and yeah, since 2019, we've been working on it. It takes about a year to, we've got it down to a year to create the event, which that was this year. That was our goal. We've We've actually already have the next three. I was going to say breaking news. Thank you. had a Breaking news. Yep, we have the next three already laid out. We have the dates. So, pretty So, and we aren't all volunteers. So you're seeing two-thirds of the... Executive team here, we do also have Taryn, who is not with us, good but she is our other board member and our other director. time. But really, without our performers and our volunteers, this event would not be able to go on, and especially our sponsors. Yes. So that's probably a good lead-in to sponsors. How many do you have? So we've been very blessed with major sponsors. We have three major sponsors this year, and they've been with us for quite some time. Prestige Therapy out of Rhode Island, who offers youth therapies like speech therapy. Thank you. Has been a sponsor for a very long time. She's one of our major sponsors and whatever we need, she gives. We told her we wanted to have an elevation in our catering and she donated more for that. Jess is not only the founder who puts her heart and soul into this, but she also donates to this organization. She gives back. from performer fees and memberships. She gives free time in the studio to help these performers elevate their performance. And then I like to say, we also have Above All Pools, and he is our behind-the-scenes sponsor. Um, you know, You know, he will give us his truck equipment. He'll clean up with us the next day. And he has made such a... substantial financial donation this year that it's really going to elevate us for 2027 to bring additional programs besides this charity event. Yeah. What do you hope the audience will walk away with beyond being entertained? I think they, I really want them to walk away feeling empowered and knowing that By supporting the Art of Fitness, they're finding their voice, too, and helping us raise awareness. Thank you for believing in what we're doing. I hope that you will see our performers' stories, and they'll touch a part of you that the Art of Fitness will leave something behind in you. They'll be like, I'm going to go to this after-party, because breaking news, you will find out the theme for 2027 if you come to the after-party at the Hive. And in the D. So I really hope people walk away from this understanding that they're not alone, that everybody has struggles, everybody fits into one or many of these areas of the mental health matrix. All right. We have to mention tickets again, because you don't make money unless you sell tickets. Right. How do people get tickets? They can go on the artoffitness.org website. They can find us on social media, Art of Fitness Inc. We're on Facebook and Instagram. They can come to Fund 107, and they can scan the QR code on the poster. So, there... They don't just need to buy tickets. There's also other ways to support us. All of our donation pages are up and accessible through our website. So you can go there and see all of these different organizations that our performers chose, and you can donate directly to those organizations. Everything that's collected by a performer, it goes directly to that organization. And we're a 501c3 federally recognized nonprofit. So any of the funds that you donate yearly or monthly, those are going to go to help fund our youth programs and the behind the scenes of the art of fitness so that we can keep applying for grants and doing things. And we just appreciate and thank you for your support. My guest has been Jessica Williams, who's president, founder of Art of Fitness operated, and Tracy Blake, who's Director of Communications. Wears other hats as well, I'm sure. They're holding a fundraiser November 7th at Eagle Events Center in Fall River. Tracy and Jessica, thank you for coming in. Thank you. And good luck with this event. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. We hope to see you there. Yes. Next on Town Square Sunday, we'll talk with Stephen Vaughn about a student dance performance he's producing at the Zyterian Performing Arts Center. Stay with us.