this yogini needs your help
i drove out to west hollywood last week to join my friend barbara at her usual sunday afternoon restorative class at city yoga. i walked up the stairs, and as i turned towards the reception desk, something posted on the bulletin board caught my eye:
Yogathon! 2007
8am. Saturday. June 30th. The summer morning sun beams triumphantly through the beautiful arched windows. 60 inspired yogis have rolled out their mats for an amazing cause. For 24 hours. To celebrate the heart. To share an unprecedented yoga journey that will include asana, pranayama, meditation, chanting, restorative, and more! All to support the ongoing good work of Habitat for Humanity - Los Angeles. Are you with us?
i could be, i thought; if i have enough stamina and endurance to run a marathon, i suppose that same stamina and endurance could get me through a 24-hour yogathon... or could it?
100% of the proceeds will go to Habitat for Humanity - Los Angeles, a nonprofit organization that builds homes and then sells them to deserving families at no profit with 0% interest loans. A great opportunity for our yoga kula to make a difference!
Our collective goal is $100,000
This is the amount needed to build one more home for one more deserving family. What an incredible offering to make to the local community. What a great way to use our practice in service to others. The extraordinary journey begins now! With a dedicated fundraising effort. If we reach our goal, H4H-LA will officially designate a house:
"This is the house that City Yoga built"
maybe i was just being impulsive, maybe i was even a bit insane, but by the time i had reached the reception desk, not only did i find myself paying for the restorative class i was about to take, but i also was forking over the additional amount needed to register for the yogathon.
hmmm... saturday, june 30th. i didn't have my calendar on me, and i couldn't think of anything that i had scheduled for that day. and night. as well as the next morning. all i knew is that i had a marathon to run on june 3rd, and that i should be all recovered by then. whatever it was that i had to do, i thought, it couldn't have been that important...
of course, by the time i got home later that evening, i realized that i did have something planned for the 30th: the sing-a-long sound of music night at the hollywood bowl. in fact, i had even organized a large group of fellow officemates so we could all have fun warbling our way through "my favorite things", "climb ev'ry mountain", and "edelweiss". and yes, our tickets were all paid for; we were just waiting for the bowl to mail them to us.
what to do now? attend the singathon and give up my spot at city yoga, or join the yogathon and forfeit the cost of my ticket at the bowl?
and this is where i need your help -- if i can get enough pledges to reach or exceed the minimum stipulated donation goal of $500, i'll honor my commitment to city yoga and give up my bowl ticket. heck, i may even give it to anyone who wants it and pledges the largest amount (the event is expected to be a sell-out, so it may end up being a hot ticket). on the other hand, if i find that i can barely raise half of that amount without having to twist arms, i'll cancel my yogathon registration, let city keep what i've paid as a donation, and join my friends in an event that's become a bowl tradition. i know that sounds cold, but i unless i can pull my weight, i really should give the chance to someone else who can raise more money and make a bigger difference.
in other words: will you please sponsor me by pledging an amount, any amount, so that we can help provide a home for a family that can't afford to put roof over their heads? you don't have to send in your payment right away; all i need is a commitment from you that you'll be able to write a check for the amount you've pledged. you can email your pledge to me at the email address listed on my blogger profile page. and i'll make my decision by mid-may, depending on the response i get from this plea.
... to think i wondered how i could ever be a yogic activist...
thank you ever so much for your support!
Yogathon! 2007
8am. Saturday. June 30th. The summer morning sun beams triumphantly through the beautiful arched windows. 60 inspired yogis have rolled out their mats for an amazing cause. For 24 hours. To celebrate the heart. To share an unprecedented yoga journey that will include asana, pranayama, meditation, chanting, restorative, and more! All to support the ongoing good work of Habitat for Humanity - Los Angeles. Are you with us?
i could be, i thought; if i have enough stamina and endurance to run a marathon, i suppose that same stamina and endurance could get me through a 24-hour yogathon... or could it?
100% of the proceeds will go to Habitat for Humanity - Los Angeles, a nonprofit organization that builds homes and then sells them to deserving families at no profit with 0% interest loans. A great opportunity for our yoga kula to make a difference!
Our collective goal is $100,000
This is the amount needed to build one more home for one more deserving family. What an incredible offering to make to the local community. What a great way to use our practice in service to others. The extraordinary journey begins now! With a dedicated fundraising effort. If we reach our goal, H4H-LA will officially designate a house:
"This is the house that City Yoga built"
maybe i was just being impulsive, maybe i was even a bit insane, but by the time i had reached the reception desk, not only did i find myself paying for the restorative class i was about to take, but i also was forking over the additional amount needed to register for the yogathon.
hmmm... saturday, june 30th. i didn't have my calendar on me, and i couldn't think of anything that i had scheduled for that day. and night. as well as the next morning. all i knew is that i had a marathon to run on june 3rd, and that i should be all recovered by then. whatever it was that i had to do, i thought, it couldn't have been that important...
of course, by the time i got home later that evening, i realized that i did have something planned for the 30th: the sing-a-long sound of music night at the hollywood bowl. in fact, i had even organized a large group of fellow officemates so we could all have fun warbling our way through "my favorite things", "climb ev'ry mountain", and "edelweiss". and yes, our tickets were all paid for; we were just waiting for the bowl to mail them to us.
what to do now? attend the singathon and give up my spot at city yoga, or join the yogathon and forfeit the cost of my ticket at the bowl?
and this is where i need your help -- if i can get enough pledges to reach or exceed the minimum stipulated donation goal of $500, i'll honor my commitment to city yoga and give up my bowl ticket. heck, i may even give it to anyone who wants it and pledges the largest amount (the event is expected to be a sell-out, so it may end up being a hot ticket). on the other hand, if i find that i can barely raise half of that amount without having to twist arms, i'll cancel my yogathon registration, let city keep what i've paid as a donation, and join my friends in an event that's become a bowl tradition. i know that sounds cold, but i unless i can pull my weight, i really should give the chance to someone else who can raise more money and make a bigger difference.
in other words: will you please sponsor me by pledging an amount, any amount, so that we can help provide a home for a family that can't afford to put roof over their heads? you don't have to send in your payment right away; all i need is a commitment from you that you'll be able to write a check for the amount you've pledged. you can email your pledge to me at the email address listed on my blogger profile page. and i'll make my decision by mid-may, depending on the response i get from this plea.
... to think i wondered how i could ever be a yogic activist...
thank you ever so much for your support!
posted by joni at 11:43 PM
3 Comments:
joni - happy to donate $50 to start you off.. very cool that you will be participating and when we give something up we are in our power of truth... no grasping now that is yoga folks. lol, hillary
hi hillary --
i'm so honored that you've chosen to support me in this venture!
thank you, thank you, thank you!
Nice thought. Keep it up.
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