Yoga 4 Change (Y4C) received $23,400 from The Partnership: For Mental Health, a project of Baptist Health and the Delores Barr Weaver Fund at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida. This grant funding is being used for capacity building purposes to: 1) Hire a Full-Time Director of Virtual Programming; and 2) Offer one additional virtual class to impact more individuals in the Northeast Florida community.
Yoga 4 Change is excited to announce their 7th staff member, Kimberly Madigan, to be hired through this funding. Kim will serve the organization with regards to virtual programming and data collection. She began working with Y4C as a teacher in 2019, hired on part-time at the beginning of 2021 and was promoted to fill the role of the Director of Virtual Programs at full-time status, as of June 1st. Kim is a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher, a certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, certified Y12SR instructor, Silver Sneakers Instructor and holds several other trauma informed yoga certifications. “I am excited and grateful for this opportunity to launch a new virtual class and work directly with the research team”, says Kimberly Madigan, “Each day I organize and enter data, I am consistently inspired by the comments gathered from Y4C participants.”
Yoga 4 Change was founded in 2014 in Jacksonville, FL and over the last 7 years has offered trauma-informed programs to 4 populations: Veterans, youth, individuals experiencing incarceration and those living with mental health conditions. Y4C collects data both before and after class to show the impact one class has on stress, mood and pain levels. Historical data shows that Y4C programs significantly decrease stress and pain and significantly increase mood. This grant funding allots the organization an opportunity to implement an additional weekly virtual class. This class will be taught to the youth at Bay Area Youth Services (BAYS) once a week through their BAYS Family Connections Jacksonville program. BAYS works in partnership with individuals, families, and communities to inspire change, growth, and success.
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Yoga 4 Change is a 501(c)(3) organization that achieves meaningful change for veterans, incarcerated individuals, youth, and those living with mental health conditions through a purpose-driven yoga program. Y4C aims to heal and empower these underserved populations, creating healthier, safer communities, one class at a time.
The Partnership: For Mental Health is a project of Baptist Health and the Delores Barr Weaver Legacy Fund at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida. The intention of this innovative project, recommended by Delores Barr Weaver, is to encourage joint learning and make strategic grants to strengthen and improve access to the system that provides mental and behavioral health care in Northeast Florida. The fund will consider proposals made by 501c3 nonprofit organizations throughout the year that address direct service, advocacy, awareness, training and more. For more information about The Partnership: For Mental Health, see https://www.jaxcf.org/receive/how-to-apply#partnershipmentalhealth
Together we will eliminate the stigma of mental illness. Start the conversation: https://www.wolfsonchildrens.com/onoursleeves
