Workout for Change tackles Philly's gun violence, social justice issues through exercise

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Wednesday, October 14, 2020
Workout for change uses exercise to create social awareness, change
WORKOUTS FOR CHANGE: After overcoming homelessness, drug addiction and weight gain, Tara Jean D'Antonio is making social justice her latest challenge -- using fitness to get bodies and minds right.Tara Jean D'Antonio is making social justice her latest challenge using her Workout for Change group to get bodies and minds right.

PHILADELPHIA -- Tara Jean D'Antonio overcame homelessness to bring a powerful message to the world!

"Honestly, I had a very, very traumatic and difficult life," she said.

It would be impossible to see this from the surface, as the nutrition specialist was energetically leading a work out session in October.

"I went through a period where I was addicted to drugs, homeless about 11 years ago and I was 285 pounds," she said.

125 pounds later, she appears to be in the best shape of her life.

Earlier this year, she joined a litany of exercise enthusiasts who were displaced from their routines by COVID-19.

"In the beginning of the pandemic, nobody had anywhere to work out," she said. "And I knew it was an opportunity to raise money and awareness."

She began hosting outdoor exercise classes at the Philadelphia Museum of Art under the moniker, "Workout for Change." Initially supporting racial injustice and inequality, she focused today's session on gun violence.