Red Backpack

💛 The Story I’ve Never Shared (Until Now)

During the pandemic in 2020, many small gyms didn’t survive.

They couldn’t pivot fast enough. They lost member support. They ran out of money.
We came very close.

But something extraordinary happened at Evolution Fitness & Wellness—our members showed up.
Not just to train—but to stand by us.

Some embraced Zoom training without hesitation. Others didn’t love the switch, but kept paying their memberships to support our team and mission.
Their loyalty gave us the time—and courage—to adapt.

But we still needed help. And it came, quietly, through a friend who told me about a grant I had never heard of.

It was called the Red Backpack Fund, created by Sara Blakely and the Spanx Foundation to support women entrepreneurs during COVID.

They offered $5,000 grants to 1,000 women-owned businesses.
I applied. And EFW was chosen.

I’ve never shared that publicly before. But that $5,000 helped us pay our trainers during the hardest months.
It helped us keep going—so we could continue helping others keep moving.

That grant didn’t just keep our lights on.
It helped fuel our mission to help people age actively—through strength, community, and consistency.

I’ll never forget it.
And as I look ahead to EFW’s 10-year anniversary in February 2026, I carry that moment with so much gratitude and pride.

To our members, to the Red Backpack Fund, to everyone who stood by us—you are a part of our story.
Thank you for helping us keep writing it.

#EFW10Years #GratitudeStory #RedBackpackFund #SmallBusinessResilience #AgingActively #WomenInBusiness #LifeActivated