Event to help nonprofits formed after Parkland shooting
Yoga4MSD helps teens heal trauma, become yoga instructors
Helping teens heal through yoga, Yoga4MSD was started after the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland by its yoga teacher Amy Kenny.
The nonprofit helps teens become certified yoga instructors to help heal trauma through yoga retreats and to bring yoga into more schools.
Yoga4MSD, along with five other nonprofits, will benefit from the upcoming fourth annual Yoga
For Life event from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the Coral Springs Gymnasium, 2501 Coral Springs Drive.
“I’m really excited about that. The event has grown and it’s going to be a great event,” said Kenny, who is also one of the event’s yoga instructors. “We are continuing to heal through yoga through the ripple effect having teens connect to their peers.”
Yoga For Life is a community healing and fundraising event that will introduce participants to mindfulness through yoga and meditation.
“It’s an easy way to introduce natural methods of coping in our community. I believe yoga, meditation and mindfulness can play a role in how people cope,” said Ken Wiesenfeld, who co-founded the event with his wife, Carrie.
The Wiesenfelds are involved in LifeNet4Families and in previous years, the yoga event had been a fundraiser solely for the nonprofit that provides a gateway to stability for people in Broward County experiencing hunger, homelessness and poverty.
However, this year he wanted to include some charities founded after the tragedy at MSD as well as LifeNet4Families because his children attended the school and lost friends, he said.
“Given my connections to what
happened, I wanted to do more. They are all amazing people who faced tragedy and stepped up to do things for others, and it’s important for us to do for them,” Wiesenfeld said.
The other nonprofits benefiting from Yoga For Life are Orange Ribbons for Jaime, Change the Ref, Make Our Schools Safe and Safe Schools for Alex.
Make Our Schools Safe is a nonprofit started by Lori and Ilan Alhadeff after losing their 14-year-old daughter, Alyssa, during the shooting at MSD. The organization’s mission is to empower students and staff to help create and maintain a culture of safety and vigilance in a secure school environment, Lori Alhadeff said.
“I’m so grateful to Yoga For Life for including Make Our Schools Safe as one of the beneficiaries,” she said, adding that proceeds received will be used for school safety hardening measures.
“Make Our Schools Safe has developed major inroads toward school safety around the country. Alyssa’s Law, requiring silent panic buttons in public school buildings, is a life-saving measure that would allow law enforcement to assist quickly in the event of an emergency on campus. Time equals life,” she said.
The bill already passed in New Jersey and through the first senate committee meeting recently in Tallahassee.
“We are hopeful that (midday): 8-2 (midday): 7-4-2 (midday): 5-2-7-2 (midday): 9-3-0-2-3
(evening): 3-6 (evening): 9-6-1 (evening): 3-2-4-4 (evening): 8-4-7-0-9
Alyssa’s Law will be passed both here in Florida and then at the federal level,” she said.
Dr. Melanie Geddes, president and CEO of LifeNet4Families, said she is grateful to be part of Yoga For Life again.
“Through events like this, we’re able to raise awareness about the services we provide and can identify people who are interested in volunteering and financially supporting us and finding people who need help and are unaware of our services,” she said.
Wiesenfeld’s goal is to raise $50,000 and he said he hopes 250 people attend the event “because they care.”
“If they want to show support for the community they live in, or if they live in South Florida, they understand what this area has been through, and they enjoy yoga and meditation. It’s
Selected Sunday Fantasy 5:
Cash 4 Life: a wonderful thing,” he said.
Yoga For Life will also be a drop-off site for In Jacob’s Shoes and the Shirt Off My Back, two organizations that help those in need. New and gently used shoes, clothing and toiletries will be collected.
“It’s a one-stop shop for all good things,” Wiesenfeld said.
Other yoga instructors include Melanie Cordover, Lisa Ponczek and Mary Ann Morgan-Fried and meditation teacher is Shelly Tygielski. There will also be other nonprofits in attendance to share what they do as well as raffles. Shine MSD will perform at the end of the event.
Registration is a $25 donation for adults; teens and children are admitted for free.
Email ken@yflcharity.com or visit yflcharity.com to register.