Information: www.atlantawomen.org
Atlanta’s top yoga teachers led over 350 participants at Centennial Olympic Park on June 6 in various stretches and poses to not only practice the classic form of exercise, but also to raise awareness for the Atlanta Women’s Foundation, a local nonprofit that has worked to end generational poverty for women and girls.
On the bright Saturday morning, AWF hosted its first Yogathon to align with the goals of the foundation’s goals for the women it helps.
“As an organization, we want the women we serve to be healthy in their minds, bodies and spirits, and yoga as an exercise achieves the same goals,” said Executive Director Kelly Dolan. “So we thought that a yogathon resonates the mission of the foundation perfectly and it was a fun way to bring people together and to raise awareness for the organization.”
The event brought together the community for marathon yoga sessions taught by some of Atlanta’s top yoga teachers. Attendees participated as much or as little as they wished for the five-hour yoga marathon all while raising over $70,000 for the Atlanta Women’s Foundation.
The foundation was founded in the late 1990s and it has funded programs in hopes to remove barriers for women to be successful. Our House, in Decatur and Old Fourth Ward, provides quality early childhood education to homeless children in Metro Atlanta and assists their parents with the support services needed to achieve housing and employment stability.
“The foundation’s support allows us to help hundreds of homeless women and girls each year and guides us with best practices to ensure that we have the greatest positive impact on homeless families in metro Atlanta,” said Tabatha Michel, vice president of development for Our House.
By providing support for direct services such as childcare, mentorship and job training, AWF helps at least 3,000 women a year.
Volunteers are the core of the foundation’s work. People can help us organize the next Yogathon, come help us in the office, be a part of our public policy and advocacy team or participate in our mentoring programs, added Dolan.
Atlanta Women’s Foundation serves DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb and Clayton counties.
“When we see these young women and girls blossom through our various programs, it makes you realize what an impact people can have on each other in a positive way,” added Donal.
In other news: Kroger's Atlanta Division customers donated $302,000 to Children's Miracle Network hospitals across Georgia, South Carolina and eastern Alabama. Metro Atlanta-area customers' contributed more than $211,000 to benefit the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation, the local affiliate of Children's Miracle Network. Kroger's annual two-week philanthropic initiative benefiting Children's Miracle Network sought to raise $250,000 through customer purchases of $1 hot-air balloon icons, known as "Miracle Balloons," from May 17 – 30.
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