A Heartfelt Thank You From Stuart Dixon For #SavingTheVictoriaSquashClub

The campaign to #SaveTheVictoriaSquashClub started off as a last ditch effort to save the Victoria Squash Club. The club has managed to just get by for quite some time now, but there were 2 large bills upcoming that the club simply couldn't afford to pay. Stuart and his wife Sandy have put plenty of their own money into the club over the years, but that can only go on for so long. Unfortunately this year it seemed like bankruptcy was the only option.

Last week I ran a few ideas by Stuart on how I could help him drum up some money for the club so it could stay open. At first I thought about hosting a club golf tournament, but there was only a month to plan it and we had to raise $27,000. Later on I thought about this crowdfunding idea and began working on the site (GoFundMe.com/SaveTheVictoriaSquashClub).

Stuart is such a well respected and iconic coach in Canada and all around the world, so it would have been horrible to see his club close. But within 3 days of launching this campaign we had already raised more than what we had hoped for. Social media is amazing for things like this and it wasn't a tough ask for anyone who's ever met Stu.

This time last week it was looking like the club might be closing for good and now just a week later the club and the community have come together like never before. Not only have we raised over $40,000, but more importantly the spotlight has been placed on the struggles of running a privately owned squash club, even if it is led by a hall of fame coach and wonderful human being.

What's next for the club? Well we have a club survey coming out soon to try to get some feedback on how the members would like the club to operate moving forward, knowing full well that changes are imminent and necessary. We are also looking to assemble a management team/committee of devoted volunteers to help the club become a more successful business and ensure that it's a long standing staple here in Victoria. It's unbelievable how many people have reached out and offered their support above and beyond making a donation. It's because of this outpour that we are now confident that things are going to turn around for the better. How quickly things can change...

Here is a heartfelt video of Stuart thanking everyone who helped save his club. If you'd like to follow along the progress and updates to the club bookmark VictoriaSquashClub.com and follow Serious Squash on Facebook and Instagram. I'll be posting updates as we go. There's plenty of great ideas and lots of motivated people with 1 common goal, and that's to make the Victoria Squash Club thrive!