JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — The owners of a Jacksonville Beach treadmill studio are opening up their doors to the public Friday for a free fitness class to raise awareness about sex trafficking and help survivors around the world.
Coach Taryn Flock with STRIDE is taking part in a hike in Colorado later this summer to raise money for an international organization called Rescue Freedom. She said this class is a way more people can get involved and help make a difference.
"The event is just going to be pretty much a 55-minute long hike per se because that's what we're doing in August for Rescue Freedom. So I'm going to create a hiking template, so power walking, hill, incline template, that is just going to be super fun," Flock said. "All my music will be toward either freedom or going uphill all the way up type situation."
Rescue Freedom says it helped more than 180,000 survivors, victims and at-risk individuals in 2020.
"They work not only to provide victims of sex trafficking with that post-life kind of transitioning back into hopefully what can be a normal life for them, but they also work on prevention and awareness and then trying to work with legislation to make sure that these people aren't just bogged down for the rest of their life," Flock said. "They try to make connections with other foundations that are trying to do the same thing so that it's all a team effort."
The free exercise class is Friday, July 2 at 5 p.m. at STRIDE in Jacksonville Beach. Donations are welcome. Spots are limited, so you need to pre-register by calling STRIDE. If you can't make the event, you can learn more about Rescue Freedom and donate online.