The Blog

Carolyn Haney started WeViva in 2011 when she noticed that access to health and fitness was not equal among all Texans. Although there were (and still are) wonderful programs going on for low-income youth in Austin, there was a gap in regard to health (mainly fitness and nutrition) for low-income individuals, especially Hispanic moms.

Carolyn, a great friend of ours who previously worked on the IT’S TIME team, was inspired to bring free fitness and nutrition classes into low-income neighborhoods around Austin. In a few short years, WeViva has grown exponentially, and continues to expand every day! “At WeViva, we get passionate about bringing free, fun, fitness, and food into communities where they would not usually have access to it, and where they may not be able to afford the classes,” Carolyn explains. “WeViva believes health is a lifestyle, and we encourage our participants to have a fantastic time at our classes for no cost! Every day we are motivated by the success stories of our participants. These women (and men) are strong, brave, independent, and choosing to do something for themselves in order to better everyone around them. Our participants have always been the main inspiration behind WeViva, and they always will be.“

All WeViva classes will be listed on the Choose Healthier app, and Carolyn thinks Choose Healthier “will make a great resource for people when they need to find a specific class in their neighborhood! We, at WeViva, think that the best thing about the app is the easy navigation, and the fact that all the resources are in the same place so you will no longer have to search multiple sites to find the class that fits your needs.” WeViva leads 30 free Zumba and nutrition classes at 14 different Austin area locations every single week! Even those of us who aren’t particularly coordinated love WeViva Zumba classes, and they’re a dang good workout!