December 2, 2005

Curves of Evergreen selected Shining Star winner

Community fundraisers keep local club a cut above the rest

Curves International selected Curves of Evergreen as a Shining Star winner out of 9,500 locations in 31 countries. Only 500 clubs worldwide were selected to receive this honor.

Curves of Evergreen owner Cristie Burr, seated, displays the signs her club earned for being named a Shining Star facility. She credits much of her success to her members and her staff, pictured from left: Missy Jakubs, Terry Barmore, Candy Hauan and Rose Jones.

Hundreds of locations were turned down for the award and instructed on what to fix to reapply in six months. Gary and Diane Heavin, founders of Curves, would like to see 100 percent of all clubs earning this award, according to Cristie Burr, Curves of Evergreen owner. Hers was the only Bay Area club to receive this award.

A Shining Star demonstrates that a club follows all Curves corporate policies in terms of operations, safety, staff training, cleanliness, charity, owner advanced training, etc. 

In terms of owner advanced training, Burr recently earned a certificate from the Cooper Institute of Aerobics, a nationally recognized certification. She also completed two college level courses in kinesiology and nutrition in the past year as the first step in a Wellness and Nutrition college certificate.

Charitable giving
Curves of Evergreen has earned a reputation for exemplary charity fundraisers since the club first opened its doors in the spring of 2003.

In July, the South Bay Curves co-op, which includes 21 Curves locations, participated in the Women’s Expo held at the San Jose Convention Center. Proceeds from this event benefited San Jose’s Career Closet, an organization that collects and distributes career clothes to underprivileged women in our community.

“Curves of Evergreen members donated almost 1,000 pieces of new and gently used career clothes,” said Burr. “It took two women about 30 minutes to load their SUVs. They were afraid they wouldn’t be able to fit it all in,” added Burr, noting that the Career Closet had never seen such a large single donation.

This fall, the generous members collected $1,600 for Hurricane Katrina victims in a two-week period. Gary Heavin, founder and CEO of Curves International matched the first $1,000, enabling the local club to send the American Red Cross a check totaling $2,600.

“These women are so amazing. I feel so blessed to be a part of Curves and the generous Evergreen community,” said Burr. “We at Curves are committed to continuing our community service efforts.”

In November, members collected three barrels of food for Second Harvest Food Bank, with the theme “Eat your P’s,” the women focused on the items most needed by the food bank, such as pasta, powdered milk, peanut butter and pop-top cans.

This month, Curves of Evergreen will host its holiday Care and Share program. The club is actively seeking local families in need, in hopes of making their holidays a bit brighter. Last year, the club collected more than 200 gifts for the San Jose Shelter. If you have a family in mind, please call the club at (408) 532-8844.

New workouts, expanded hours
This month, Curves Evergreen is offering Advanced Workout Training.

In January, the club will be expanding its hours of operation from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and from 7 a.m. to noon and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Saturday hours will be 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. The club is closed on Sundays.

Weight loss classes will be open to the public starting the week of Jan. 9, 2006.