When Brian Reed, 55, died from cancer Sept. 4, many people at The Women's Club who knew his wife, Erin, did not even know he was sick.
"You would never have known from her smiling face and positive attitude," Angie Quehl, the marketing and member services director, said.
South Riding resident, Erin Reed, had only been a member at the Chantilly fitness club for a short while when her husband died from Cushing's Syndrome, caused by a rare form of cancer, a neuroendocrine thymic carcinoid tumor. The disease put a financial strain on the family, which includes two children, Carter and Anna, Quehl said.
"We immediately went into action when we found out," Quehl said.
On Nov. 18, The Women's Club hosted a fund-raiser for the Reed family, with all proceeds going to The Brian Reed Cancer Fund. The club held an all-levels group exercise class to benefit the fund, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., and raised $1,000.
"In addition to the money, we gave Erin a free lifetime membership at our facility along with child care," Quehl said.
The free event was open to both members and nonmembers with donations encouraged.
"We want people to donate what they want," Quehl said. "Our event is fairly simple. Our intent was just to do a little something for Erin."
Before the event Quehl was positive about the outcome.
"We do have a lot of members here that are [the Reed's] neighbors," she said. "Our members our fantastic."
Although Quehl said the fitness fund-raiser was small, she said she hoped it would spark people to donate even after the event was over.
"Our hope is that maybe that will be a continued effort long past our little one-hour event," she said. "If a little bit of that spirit stays in the community that would be great."
The Women's Club will be collecting donations for the fund at the front desk for people that could not make the event or wanted to donate more money.
"Every little bit helps," Quehl said. "We felt there was an obligation to take care of such a great woman."