Homegrown Solutions for a Patchwork World - The Skills, Talents, and Mindsets of Changemakers
Piloting Your Own Health Journey -Featuring Changemaker Stacy Fritz
Patti cultivates homegrown changemakers prepared to step into their power and work with others to create the world they want to live in. Get in touch to find out how you can grow the social changemaker in yourself and those you serve with Blue Roads Changemaker YOU.
If I were to summarize my conversation with Changemaker Stacy Fritz, I would say, “passion driven by love.” Stacy’s passion for a healthier community has led her on a journey to help people live healthier lives. After her kids started school, she started her company, FIT2order with her business partner, Pattie Sassano. Together, they brought fitness programs to locations beyond “the gym”. The company has evolved over the past 14 years and now provides wellness solutions for companies whose employees sit most of the day. Her sedentary solutions focus on the hazards of occupational sitting and include onsite/online workshops, e-learning modules, an at-work FITness tool and a digital platform for work breaks. Stacy's company is laser focused on healthy habits at work. She believes that if we take ownership of our health, we stand a better chance of preventing chronic conditions further down the line.
In this episode of “On Your Own Terms,” Stacy shares her “Homegrown Solutions for a Patchwork World”. Watch the video of our conversation, listen to the podcast, and read the summary to learn more! Stacy's story is one most folks can relate to. Many of us are impacted by life challenging circumstances. I hope Stacy's passion for health and wellness can inspire you, as it has me, to live a more vigorous, healthful and joyful life.
Homegrown StacyStacy is currently rooted outside the Baltimore area in the suburbs of Towson Timonium. She lives with her husband and her 3 sons. As a child, she grew up in South Florida but she moved to Maryland when she was in high school.
I was an active athlete as a child and competed in gymnastics. As I grew older I morphed into competitive runner and a yogi.
After high school, Stacy attended the University of Delaware for her undergraduate degree. Afterwards, she received her Master’s degree at Gallaudet University. When she graduated, she became a teacher. She worked with hearing impaired toddlers and infants until she had her own children. After becoming a mother, Stacy took time off teaching. It was important to Stacy and her husband that she spent as much time as she could with her sons during their early childhood. Once they were in 1st grade, Stacy thought to herself, “What do I do next?”
I had this big background in teaching and I went on to get certified in nutrition and movement. Then, my business partner and I started Fit 2 Order.
Solution Focused Stacy
In October 2020, Stacy lost her brother to colon cancer. Grieved by the loss of her only sibling, Stacy found herself reflecting on how sudden and unexpected it all was. Her brother was only 46 years old and he left behind 3 children of his own. In Stacy's words, “My husband and I have three kids and my brother has three kids. I consider them my half dozen. They shouldn’t be living without the presence of their father. My brother should absolutely be here.“
He was a pilot and truly one of my very best friends. To say that the loss is ginormous is truly an understatement.
Stacy knew from her experience as a nutritional expert that many chronic illnesses develop due to unhealthy lifestyle habits. After her brother’s passing, she knew that she could help countless people adopt healthier lifestyles so that they don’t have to experience what her brother went through. In Stacy’s words, she is a patient advocate. She believes that the body has many tools available to heal and stay healthy.
Everything I do now for Fit2Order and everything I do personally is wrapped around being an advocate and understanding the power that you have over your health.
Stacy's PatchworkDuring COVID, Stacy realized she had been missing out on deeper connections. She was so committed to being a caregiver that she was spread thin. She found that she could not be strong by herself. She needed a supportive community around her. Stacy joined HPS (Heroic Public Speaking) where she met 49 other members of their “grad program” with whom she felt deeply connected.
I've never been in a group of people where I have felt so unapologetically honest about how I was feeling about an experience.
For Stacy, HPS has become a network where she can truly connect with others to make a difference. It is a safe space where she can share and learn key insights about business and life with others along the journey. What started as 49 strangers, eventually has become 49 allies who share an ambition and passion for positive change.
I came out with 49 people that I could call out for an area of expertise, a connection, or a resource which is less about the business opportunities for me than it is about creating this safe space of information and support.
Another setting that has informed Stacy's patchwork is through a show she has moderated called “Food for Thought.” In each episode, nutrition oncologists speak in detail about nutrition and the long-term health effects of diet. Stacy's leadership in that setting as well as her newest endeavor as a public speaker, Stacy hopes that her work will ripple out to the world, leading to a healthier and more vibrant community.
Changemaker StacyUnderneath all of her initiatives is the memory of her loving brother. Stacy’s mission is to elevate the health and wellbeing of others. There are long term consequences to the decisions we make. She believes that people need a better system. Conditions like cancer should not be a death sentence, but an indicator that your body is not receiving the care that you need. There are steps we can all take to protect ourselves. She uses the dashboard in the cockpit of an airplane as a metaphor to explain what she means.
If you can look at your health as a dashboard of instruments, you don't want all those instruments turned on to ‘inflammatory.’
Stacy continues to teach people about health and wellness through Fit2Order. She works with companies who have employees at a desk all day. As her company has grown, she's developed new programs to provide tips for better nutrition and a stronger body. The world can be such a busy place with too much hustle and bustle. Many people across the world may feel overwhelmed and tired. The first thing they forget to take care of is themselves.
Stacy's excited to share about a new product she's developed that will be coming out in January of 2023. It's called “The Vida Ball”!
Stay tuned to learn more about the Vida Ball and how it will support personal wellness by focusing on life-giving and life-sustaining breathwork.
Without a doubt, Stacy's story began with a focus on Global Goal #4 – Quality Education as she started her career as a teacher. Her work as a speaker and advocate continues that emphasis with a special focus on Sustainable Development Goal #3 – Good Health and Well-being inspired by her brother's story.
One goal that might not seem so obvious though would be Goal #2 – Zero Hunger. After all, your stomach could be full, and your body may still be starving for the nutrients it needs to stay healthy.
I hope you'll get in touch to let us know what YOU and people you know are doing to realize these Global Goals by the year 2030. We can sure do it if we all work together and take our place as Changemakers!
CHECK OUT our CHANGEMAKER YOU course to help you get started today!
SUBSCRIBE FOR EMAIL UPDATES