CURVES Drysdale should have been celebrating its 14th birthday this month, but instead was forced to close its doors.<\/p>\n
The women\u2019s only gym was supposed to finish up business this weekend on August 27, but due to another lockdown, was forced to close even sooner last Saturday.<\/p>\n
Owner Andrea Keating said unfortunately Curves Drysdale could no longer survive the difficult times caused by COVID-19.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would have been celebrating 14 years of Curves in the community on August 27,\u201d an emotional Andrea said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMyself and my husband Steve took over on August 21 so we just celebrated 11 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut unfortunately due to COVID-19 we have been forced to close our doors, something I never ever thought it would have come to.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis wasn\u2019t the way I saw myself leaving the club after 14 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrea said it was a hard decision to close, but that decision was taken out of her hands thanks to lockdown 7.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has been lots of emotions to go through \u2026 lockdowns just kept coming, then you\u2019d pick yourself up again and wham, here we go again,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been shut nearly more than we\u2019ve been open in the last 18 months.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, we can\u2019t dwell on that, we need to move on \u2026 that\u2019s the way life is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrea said closing Curves Drysdale was especially sad because its staff and members had done so much for the community, especially being proactive in raising donations for various local charities.<\/p>\n
Members recently raised money and supported homeless women on the Bellarine with donations of care packages, collected food for the Drysdale Foodbank, brought in gifts for a Christmas Giving Tree and donated to Cottage by the Sea.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur member Mary lost her husband Terry to Motor Neurone Disease, and to raise money for the cause we held an Ice Bucket\u00a0Challenge where we were out the front with a wading pool and members were throwing ice over me \u2026 we raised thousands!<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve also done breast cancer walks on Mother\u2019s Day, decorated bras and hung them from the roof, and Relay for Life in the early days.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have done so much as a community \u2026 we are a women\u2019s only gym that goes above and beyond.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are more than a gym, we are a community of women.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrea said her wish and dream was for her amazing clients to continue their health and fitness journey, whatever that may be.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so grateful for all the wonderful women I\u2019ve met and the great things we\u2019ve done, and the many lives we\u2019ve touched,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d get lovely emails from people saying how we\u2019ve helped them, not just with health and fitness, but mental health where they\u2019ve been with life and circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrea said it was also thanks to her dedicated staff Leanne Barry (10 years) and Jemma Nolan (nearly 12 months) that the business had remained open as long as it did.<\/p>\n
She said it was so important for people to support their local businesses during the pandemic because she didn\u2019t want them going through what she just had.<\/p>\n
Also, she hasn\u2019t seen her daughter who is currently in London for two years in December.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need and want everyone to get vaccinated and will do whatever I can to help push that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CURVES Drysdale should have been celebrating its 14th birthday this month, but instead was forced to close its doors. The women\u2019s only gym was supposed to finish up business this weekend on August 27, but due to another lockdown, was forced to close even sooner last Saturday. Owner Andrea Keating said unfortunately Curves Drysdale could […]<\/p>\n