• Article Photo. These are some of the 62 people who helped raise money for Operation Backpack with the Challenge.
    These are some of the 62 people who helped raise money for Operation Backpack with the Challenge.
  • Article Photo. Julie Lessig and her challenge partners raised $2658; she presented it to Riley and Kylie Tuesday.
    Julie Lessig and her challenge partners raised $2658; she presented it to Riley and Kylie Tuesday.

More than 60 people joined Julie Lessig in the Total Balance Tri-Body Challenge over the first three months of 2015. Participants did plank crunch and core exercises for one month each while donating to the program which provides food for families of VS students. 

Participants celebrated the end of the successful campaign on Wednesday, as they gathered at Total Balance to present the funds to Operation Backpack organizers Riley Ries and Kylie Miracle. The effort raised $2648. 

Ries said that local fund-raising efforts and donations now total more than $11,000. A total of 95 students in Vinton and Shellsburg benefit from the program.