Studio Oxygen spins for local charities

After sweating it out during an intense spinning class, Stephanie Camardese received a congratulations from her brother-in-law, Jack Savage. The two are the sister and husband, respectively, of the late Christina Savage, the namesake of Christina's Garden. Camardese and Savage visited Studio Oxygen on the day of the Spin-a-Thon to thank participants for their hard work.

Guests to Studio Oxygen exercised for a good cause on April 16, for the facility’s first Spin-a-Thon. Funds raised from the event were given to local charities Christina’s Garden and Silver Lining, and canned goods collected were given to Second Harvest Food Bank.

Before the noon spinning class began, Terry Weiss (right) gathered all his strength for the intense workout ahead.

Studio Oxygen instructors were the face of the Spin-a-Thon on April 16, pushing the guests to get their blood pumping for the good of local charities. The instructors are, from left, Katie Drennen (front), Darnell Brady, Melissa D’Altorio, Alisa Perren, and Shirley Thomas (top) and Amy Zellers.

Studio Oxygen instructor Melissa D’Altorio (right) was thrilled when Stephanie Camardese attended the noon spinning class. Camardese is the sister of the late Christina Savage, the namesake of the charity Christina’s Garden, which the Spin-a-Thon is benefitting.
By SARAH FOOR
Studio Oxygen in Canfield, known for its yoga instruction, left the workout of quiet introspection behind for the day of April 17. Instead, stationary exercise bikes and lots of intensity were welcomed into the facility’s studio for a Spin-A-Thon benefitting the causes of three local charities.
“Studio Oxygen has done yoga for charity, but never spinning. The idea for our Spin-A-Thon came from that simple observation and snowballed from there,” explained Melissa D’Altorio, a teacher at Studio Oxygen who helped plan the event. “We started organizing only a month ago and everything came together wonderfully thanks to community support.”
The studio’s Spin-A-Thon offered an hour-long spinning class for $10 and the donation of a canned good. The donated food was headed to Second Harvest Food Bank and the money split between two local cancer support organizations, Silver Lining and Christina’s Garden.
“We wanted our first Spin-A-Thon to benefit local charities. Many of us know where the funds are going, and know the individuals it is helping. That was important to us,” D’Altorio explained.
Studio Oxygen received help of its own, with the Youngstown YMCA donating spinning bikes and Belleria and Subway donating food for guests.
The April 17 event saw a mix of studio regulars and many new faces. For the event’s noon spinning class, representatives from participating charity Christina’s Garden arrived to show their solidarity.
Stephanie Camardese, the sister of the late Christina Savage, proudly worked up a sweat in that midday spinning class.
Christina’s surviving husband, Jack Savage, thanked the spinners for their participation after they cooled down to the All American Rejects song “Move Along,” which Christina used as inspiration while battling cancer.
“Christina was a workout fanatic — she would have been right here spinning with you and would have really loved this. I really can’t thank you enough,” Savage shared.
Finding the first Spin-A-Thon an unequivocal success, Studio Oxygen hopes to spin again for local charities in July.