The mission of The Wellness Initiative is to improve the physical health, social and emotional development, and academic performance of low-income youth through yoga-based wellness programs in Colorado.

Manduka was happy to donate auction items for this program’s fundraising efforts. What’s more important, is that overall, with the help of all sponsors, The Wellness Initiative was able to raise $32,000. These funds will directly support The Wellness Initiative’s programs in low-income schools in Colorado and will give the program the opportunity to provide valuable, life-long tools to students who might otherwise not have access to yoga’s powerful benefits. Many children within the program are benefitting greatly from learning yoga; and many now consider it a tool to calming down, feeling happy, concentrating, and being healthy.

If you would like to learn more about The Wellness Initiative, or if you would like to support their cause, please visit their website at wellnessinitiative.org.

The LAPD’s Newton Police Activities League (PAL) Program is a non-profit organization that introduces inner city kids to Yoga and other artistic and creative endeavors. PAL is a crime prevention program designed to build positive relationships between the youth in the community and police officers. This program is based on the conviction that young people - if they are reached early enough -- can develop strong, positive attitudes towards police officers and the law.

Newton PAL was formed as a way to give the youth in the community structured activities as well as safe spaces to play with friendly officers watching over. Manduka was happy to donate 20 eKO Lite mats to the LAPD’s Newton PAL Program, since the scope of the activities have broadened from mainly team sports to also include creative endeavors.

This February, Manduka donated yoga mats and props to the Division of Kinesiology and Recreation at Cal State Dominguez Hills. Yoga is a required course for all Cal State Dominguez Hills Kinesiology Majors and yoga is offered to non-majors as well as Intercollegiate Student-Athletes that enroll to increase flexibility and mental relaxation.

The yoga class offered has become one of their most popular Activity Classes and is in high demand every semester. Class sizes average 40 - 45 students/semester. Despite recent budget cuts in the department, they would like to add an additional section in the Fall. The yoga classes are conducted on hardwood floors and the old mats needed to be replaced, so Manduka was happy to donate some long-lasting yoga mats!

A Thousand Joys (ATJ) was founded in 2006, with the mission to help individuals and organizations reach their highest potential. They specialize in working with organizations that serve high-risk children and families. Their approach is holistic, blending business, psychology and complementary healing modalities to produce enduring results that far surpass the benefits derived from any single approach.

ATJ has a successful history of providing innovative, comprehensive programs that focus on stress management, emotional regulation and healing related to trauma with the goal of improving physical and mental health, and quality of life. Most recently, ATJ developed a domestic violence curriculum in collaboration with Children’s Institute Inc. and Good Shepherd Shelter. While the curriculum has shown to effectively accelerate traditional trauma treatment, we received such positive feedback on the sections pertaining to coping and life skills we adapted the curriculum for the school setting. ATJ's Transform Program is an empowerment program that helps kids develop resiliency and coping skills to better manage their stress; thereby, increasing their overall well-being and ability to do well in school so they can achieve future success. Parents and teachers are actively involved in the program to reinforce learned skills and manage their own challenges.

ATJ's Operational Effectiveness Services help community agencies maximize productivity while ensuring quality care to clients, comply with funding and service-delivery requirements, structure and streamline processes and procedures, and retain top performers.