Toledo gym provides lift for kids in need during Christmas
Weightlifting event raises money for Toys for Tots.
With Christmas fast approaching, one East Toledo gym owner is doing his best to make sure children in northwest Ohio have presents under the tree.
Joe Upham, owner of Main Street Barbell, accomplished his lifelong dream of opening a gym. Organizing a weightlifting competition to collect gifts and raise funds for Toys for Tots is his way of giving back.
He remembers what it felt like to grow up in a household where money was tight.
“I remember being a kid and my parents didn’t have much money,” Upham said. “The only time you got gifts was at Christmas. They’d always play the empty tree game the night before and Santa came. I just remember that feeling, so I thought, ‘Let’s do this.’”
Upham recently held his second annual Lifts for Gifts contest at the gym. More than 20 weightlifters competed for cash prizes while donating gifts and raising funds. The event drew many spectators who gained entry via a toy donation or $5 contribution to Toys for Tots.
Event organizers collected four boxes of toys and about $250 to be donated to Toys for Tots. Northwest Ohio Toys for Tots Coordinator Staff Sgt. Michael Shine said the lifting competition was a unique way to get involved.
“In 13 years, I haven’t seen an event like that,” Staff Sergeant Shine said. “It was a lot of fun, a lot of camaraderie.”
The competition saw an increase in competitors this year and Upham hopes the event continues to grow.
“I took it on almost like a challenge,” Upham said. “Now I want to try to fill a box truck full of toys.
“It’s growing, slowly but surely. I would love to get it into a bigger venue. I would love to someday put it in the SeaGate (Convention) Centre to have an event to get toys for kids. That would be ideal.”
Lifters were divided by gender and weight class, and started with a last person standing bench press. They started with the same weight, then had to jump a certain amount each time until only one was left.
The second portion was benching their body weight as many times as possible. Upham said the men’s winner put up 275 pounds 31 times.
“There are some pretty strong guys that come to this thing, but we get firsttime lifters too,” Upham said. “It’s so fun to see the variety of people that do it. One kid had a 20-pound (personal record) increase on the bench. He had never done that weight in his life, and he beat his best bench by 20 pounds. To see the smiles and everything, that’s cool.”
Staff Sergeant Shine said the annual drive is going “really well,” and people like Upham taking initiative are a “tremendous” help.
“I’m the only coordinator for northwest Ohio and our staff is very small, so having local companies and businesses set something up takes a huge burden off my shoulders and almost always brings in a good number of toys,” he said.