The organizers of Castlegar’s 2nd Annual Yogathon for Mental Health are ramping up for their event this Saturday, April 21 at the Castlegar Community Complex from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
There will be by-donation drop-in yoga classes suitable for all levels throughout the day with prizes to be won in every class.
This year, the event is hoping to raise awareness and funds for the Motherwise Project, mental health support groups for new moms in Castlegar. The groups were piloted last year as part of a Shared Care — Perinatal Mental Health project and proved to have a strong impact on lowering experiences of postpartum depression and anxiety. It has been a challenge to find a sustainable funding source for them to continue so the groups have been put on hold to date.
“When I first read statements about how much new mothers benefited from Motherwise, I knew the groups had to continue in our community. The fact that a lack of funding was standing in the way of continuing such an amazing program was really sad to hear. It motivated me and fellow volunteers to dedicate 100 per cent of the proceeds from this years yogathon to the Motherwise project — how could we not?” said Leah Jackson, one of the event organizers.
“We’ve been blown away by Castlegar’s generosity and support for the program to continue, shown through over 25 businesses donating prizes and silent auction items, not to mention more than 10 yoga teachers volunteering their time to lead classes and all the interest from community members in the event via social media,” Jackson said.
“I hope this motivates more sustainable funding sources to step up and consider allocating some of their budgets to the groups. If multiple agencies agree to take on a piece of the funding, it should be feasible to make this program work. Again, how can we not when we’ve seen such a positive outcome, there is research showing the return on investment is huge. It doesn’t just help the mothers, it impacts their children and entire families, our community as a whole.”
For more information about the cause and the class schedule for the day is available at www.facebook.com/CastlegarYogathon.