The staff and owners of Riverside Spa are proud to announce the opening of a new two classroom school in Kabala, Sierra Leone built by CAUSE Canada in partnership with Riverside Spa. We hope that it will stand as a reminder off the importance of education and our commitment to developing the potential of the world’s youth.
A lot of Calgarians indulge in the odd spa treatment now and then. Some do it completely guilt-free, while others do it with a long list of justifications to their partner about how that seaweed wrap is their reward for a month's worth of driving the carpool, or how without perfectly manicured feet a girl could really risk losing her job.
Not a bad tactic, but an unnecessary one for the many savvy Calgarians who've stumbled upon Will and Tracey Ast's Riverside Spa in Point McKay. Where patrons and employees know that they are really and truly making the world a better place while pampering themselves.
The reason for that being the owner's commitment to give back.
When they opened the spa in October 2005, the Ast's were just like any other new business owners -- maxed-out financially and crossing their fingers their dream would work out and their efforts pay off. Well, that was Will's dream. Tracey's plan, on the other hand, was to donate a portion of their profits to charity, before her and Will were anywhere near being able to afford it.
"We hadn't even opened our doors and she was already trying to give away money we didn't have," laughs Will.
But it's the same reason his lovely wife is convinced their business is now doing OK, even during tough economic times.
For his part, Will was on board with using the spa to support a charity, but insisted that it had to be one that was transparent, accessible, fiscally responsible and flexible with how they would accept financial assistance.
One like Canmore-based CAUSE Canada, doing life-changing charitable work in Sierra Leone for 25 years.
"We thought, if we're giving money away," said Tracey, "let's find an organization we can have an impact on and can see real results from."
And while they've been a partner with CAUSE for four years now, it was in the last year that the Riverside's support was directed solely towards the building of a new school for 600 kids in Kabala, Sierra Leone, set to open its doors next month.
"Once we stopped losing money, it was a lot easier to give it away," said Will. "And at a certain point we realized we wanted to do something tangible that we could show our staff and customers."
As for CAUSE, they're still in shock it was Riverside who called them to see what could be done to help, rather than the other way around.
"Partners like Riverside are so important because they allow us to reach a much larger objective," said Travis Wilkins from CAUSE Canada. "It's really encouraging for us to see a business who makes it a priority that -- good year or bad year, they're still going to be working with us. They're the perfect donor."
So there you go. No need to feel bad about that chocolate pedicure after all. Check out RiversideSpa.ca.