Curves has established an enviable reputation for supporting charities. During the past year, the club and all its members have worked tirelessly for charities, locally and nationally, raising phenomenal amounts of cash.

Our Pink Friday was a brilliant succes and it was great(?) to see so many of you making an effort to wear pink. Our Pink raffle proved to be very popular and congratulations go to Alice Proctor for winning the star prize, the pink Ipod.
Julie Braxton won the Pink Bon Bon game by having the nearest guess of the number of bons bons in the jar - it was 343! She might take a little time to eat her prize!!

Below are a selection of photos taken on the day - if you wish to purchase a glossy 8x6 copy for 50 pence please contact Reception. Some are also on show in the studio. All proceeds towards Breast Cancer Care.

The count is in and we managed to raise a staggering £1296.95 which is just fantastic - well done to everyone.

Race for Life

***** Registration for the 2010 event are now being taken. See www.suerydercare.org and www.raceforlife.org for details. Curves Reading West will have teams "running" in both events.  *****

Almost 80 Curves members and staff representing the 3 local Curves clubs (Lower Earley, Reading West and Woodley) participated in the 2 races held at Reading's Prospect Park on Sunday 19 July.

Organisers expected 6000 runners on the day and despite the blustery conditions which resulted in the staff holding on to their two gazebos to avoid them taking off into the Heathrow flight path, the event proved to be a fantastic success" In fact it was a personal success for Julie, one of our very own circuit coaches as she came 5th in the morning race involving 3000 runners - "good job!"

It was a long day, starting out at 8am and finishing around 5.30pm. This was a combined marketing effort by the 3 local Clubs and all the runners wore their special Green Curves Race for life T shirts so stood out from the waves of Pink clad lady participants. There was also a sprinkling of "pantomine ladies" running in their Marge Simpson blue wigs - apparently because they laughed at their wives when they undertook the Midnight Walk earlier in the year, and this was their punishment

In return for handing out free R4L pedometers, we had agreed with the Organiser that we would offer a Free Body Fat analysis so armed with our scales and Omrons (and special mention has to be made for Alan's measuring stick!) we were engulfed by ladies -we weren't sure whether it was the promise of a pedometer or the Curves service which was the main attraction but even after the pedometers had gone, ladies still came to visit us. We ended up using our stocks of FIA pedometers to keep everyone happy.

All 3 Clubs managed a good number of leads and a timely boost for potential new members. It was a great team effort in what is a great event for Curves to market its services, and thanks to everyone involved on the day. Looking forward to 2010!

Julie with her 6th place rival!

Julie with Sam, still on a high

Someone's got those years of birth wrong!

The Curves gazebos proved very popular, even
after the free pedometers went!

Sue Ryder Care Midnight Walk

***** Registration for the 2010 event are now being taken. See www.suerydercare.org and www.raceforlife.org for details. Curves Reading West will have teams "running" in both events.  *****

Almost 700 women took part in the inaugural 10km Midnight Walk around the Green Park complex on Saturday 9 May to raise funds for the local Sue Ryder hospice. Fortunately the weather was dry and the temperature mild which made for a great fun event. 700 women wearing flashing deeley bopper ears was a sight to behold and lit up the walkers' path. Sandy, owner of Curves Reading West was joined by two members Debbie Read and Margaret Olgivie and together they managed to complete the course in an "impressive" 1 hour and 57 minutes.

All walkers were presented with a goody bag and participants medal at the finish, but no one seemed keen on a lap of honour! "It was just great fun, and with the generosity of our members and friends and family, I have been able to raise £200 and I am so pleased. Assuming it is held again next year my aim is to enter a Curves team", added Sandy.

Please click an image below to enlarge!

All smiles at the start for Sandy, Debbie (centre) and Margaret (right)	And they're off!

Ta-dah! - the finishing line...!

Bras for West Africa

Our collection of unused or nearly new bras has now finished and we are delighted to say we were able to collect over 200 bras. As expected these were of all shapes, sizes and colours and we should like to thank all of our members for their generosity.

Curves goes round in circles for Red Nose Day

Curves, the womens’ only fitness studio, based in Oxford Road Reading, raised over £200 for charity by holding some fund raising activities in the Club, including a hula hoop competition where members could donate £1 for guessing which member of staff would “hoop” the longest amount of time.

The event was held twice during the day with the morning competition being won by Sandra Sciaraffa with the evening one won by Sabbie Kaur, both hooped for 45 minutes and 65 minutes respectively.

Members guessing the winners were then entered into a Grand Draw, the first three prizes donated by local businesses, Headquarters, Beauty at the Beach and the Pamper Lounge. Other events included guessing the heart rate of another Curves staff member, Julie Mason, following her workout on the circuit.

Owner Sandy Thompson was delighted with the funds raised, saying “it was great fun just to feel part of such a fantastic movement where people dig deep to help out those less fortunate than others. When I saw some of the film footage in the evening of those sickly children in Africa, I was moved and felt proud we had done our bit. We had a Change Bucket in the Club all week where members could leave their odd coins and I was so pleased with their generosity. We also have a target to beat in 2011! I should also like to thank the local businesses for their generosity too”