SARAH STOESZ | STAFF REPORTER

A new organization at Butler University takes girls off the elliptical to explore the world of physical fitness.  

The Butler CHAARG chapter was approved by the Student Government Association about two months into the school year. There are around 40 members and seven executive members.

CHAARG stands for changing health, attitudes and actions to recreate girls.  

Junior Paige Freund is the CHAARG ambassador for Butler.  She applied to be the ambassador at the end of last school year and trained all summer to prepare.  

“I wanted to get involved here,” Freund said. “I had not found something that I really, really loved.” 

CHAARG is a national organization, started in 2012.  It has 14 chapters at various universities, including Indiana University and Purdue University.  

Sophomore treasurer Kalei Sorenson said CHAARG feels like a close-knit community.

“It is crazy because it is so big,” Sorenson said. “Just being on the Instagram page and scrolling down, I am friends with people from Ohio and different places.”

CHAARG meets for workouts every Wednesday. Members also break off into small groups to work out on other days of the week. 

“My favorite thing is to see that girls really do enjoy it when they come,” Freund said.  “It is fun to just see them progress, even if they have just been doing it for a couple of weeks.”

CHAARG does not only focus on working out. The girls also talk about topics such as healthy eating, sleeping and relationships in small group meetings.

“I think it is really cool being able to help girls set their priorities and being able to see them really thrive from this, not just health and fitness-wise, but also in other aspects of their life,” Sorenson said.  

This semester, the workouts are mostly taught by different instructors from Butler’s Health and Recreation Complex.   However, next semester, Freund and Sorenson said they hope to include more workouts taught by instructors from outside studios and fitness centers.

Freund said she enjoys the instructors from all around the Indianapolis area because the classes have a positive vibe and energy.

“The professionals that come, you can tell they are so excited,” Freund said. “They love coming.”

CHAARG members have to pay a $45 fee each semester.  This covers 16 weeks of classes and a headband.

“At first, the fee can kind of turn people off,” Sorenson said. “But in the long run, we are connected with so many different places and you get that professional help one-on-one and with our organization and them in the front. You normally don’t get that, so there are a lot of benefits to it.” 

Any female student is able to join CHAARG, even if they do not have any experience with physical fitness or working out.  CHAARG hopes to double the amount of members next semester, Sorenson said. 

“We want them, even if they had never had health and fitness be a part of their life,” she said. “We want CHAARG to be the first thing because it is such a positive community and a positive outlook on life and health and fitness.  It would be great if this was their first experience with it.”

Editor’s Note: This post was updated to reflect the correct meaning of CHAARG’s name: Changing health, attitudes and actions to recreate girls.