Total Being Yoga invites the Mint Hill community to join them in supporting Girls on the Run of Union County in the month of August.
Throughout the month of August, Total Being Yoga will be accepting donations for Girls on the Run’s upcoming fall season. The items needed include small brown paper bags, gallon- and XL-sized ziplock bags, white construction paper, manila envelopes, index cards, washable markers, sharpies, sidewalk chalk, beach balls and paper plates. Owner Mian Rex’s goal is to fill one of the wine barrels standing at the entrance to the studio.
These small and inexpensive items make a big difference to Girls on the Run, a non-profit organization that relies heavily on the support of sponsors and donors. Girls on the Run charges a registration fee of $155.00 to participate in the program; however, it costs the organization $170.00 to serve one girl. Additionally, many of the girls who participate are on partial or full scholarships.
“The financial support we receive from our program sponsor, Carolinas HealthCare System, and our many 5K sponsors allows us to offer the program to any girl in Union County regardless of her financial situation,” says yoga instructor Kellen Williams, who also serves as the Site, Marketing and Volunteer Coordinator for Girls on the Run of Union County. “Intentional donations like items from our wish list help us to close this funding gap.”
The service project will conclude with a workshop led by Williams on Sunday, August 20, from 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm titled “Activate Gratitude, Cultivate Joy.” “I wanted to come up with a theme for the workshop which would be well-aligned with what we do at Girls on the Run and still very much relevant for anyone who would attend,” said Williams. “Gratitude is something I speak of in every single yoga class I teach, and it’s also something that girls learn about at Girls on the Run. I firmly believe gratitude lays the foundation for a more joyful, compassionate life and I’m excited to share more about the practice.”
Williams hopes the workshop will be a great way to “reconnect” adults with some of the same values she works to instill in the next generation through Girls on the Run. “Almost every time I share what Girls on the Run does, adults will say ‘I wish I had that when I was younger,’ or ‘I wish that existed for adults,’” says Williams. “It is my hope that this will be somewhat of a ‘Girls on the Run for grown-ups.’”
The partnership with Girls on the Run is only the beginning of Total Being’s fundraising efforts. In October, Total Being will raise money for Carolina Breast Friends through a “Pay to Play” raffle for a free month of unlimited yoga. For a one-time $25.00 donation, participants will have their name entered in the drawing every time they attend a yoga class in the month of October. There’s also a fun “Movember” fundraiser in the works for men’s health in November. For Rex, it’s important the fundraisers her studio participates in are relevant to her employees’ interests and passions. “I always want to honor whatever they do that they work very hard for,” says Rex.
Donations for August’s fundraiser can be dropped off at Total Being Yoga whenever the studio is open. There is no fee to participate in the August 20 workshop; instead, participants are asked to bring donations for the “fill the barrel” effort.
“I’ve witnessed the impact Girls on the Run can have not just on the girls in the program, but the volunteers who inspire them, the families who support them, the communities to which the girls make a meaningful contribution,” says Williams. “These donations will help Girls on the Run of Union County inspire more girls to be joyful, healthy and confident.”
