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Fitness Philanthropy and Social Capital: an Emerging Research Agenda for Sport and Community Well-Being

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Abstract

There is a growing recognition of the ways in which sport and leisure can contribute to well-being. This paper offers a socio-cultural account of the sport-charity nexus as a site and source of community well-being. The paper conceives sports charity as broader than a fundraising imperative or a motivation for physical health outcomes and benefits and argues instead that “fitness philanthropy” is an important socio-sporting movement that mobilises well-being in increasingly neo-liberal times. Drawing on the literature on sport and social capital, and leisure and well-being, the paper argues that fitness philanthropy provides an important social barometer for broader cultural and ideological imperatives that contribute in novel ways to understanding health and well-being.

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Notes

  1. For an extensive comparison of the numerous approaches taken, see Adler and Kwon (2002).

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  1. School of Social Sciences, University of Tasmania, Sandy Bay, TAS, 7005, Australia

    Catherine Palmer

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Palmer, C. Fitness Philanthropy and Social Capital: an Emerging Research Agenda for Sport and Community Well-Being. Int. Journal of Com. WB 4, 77–90 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42413-020-00063-w

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