Our April meeting saw a great turnout and a lot of charity names in our fishbowl. We’re so excited to see the level of engagement among our members and hope the momentum of growth continues!
As usual, we selected three charities to present. Our winner was ZENworks Yoga, presented by Tammy Oliver. ZENWorks Yoga is dedicated to enhancing the mental and physical well-being of students, educators, and families in underserved schools and communities. Their trauma-informed, evidence-based yoga and mindfulness programs are brought directly into school classrooms and community spaces in order to equip participants with essential tools like breathwork, movement, and mindfulness techniques. Skilled instructors show up with consistency, building healthy relationships and equipping learners with life-long social-emotional skills to manage their stress, grow their confidence, and lead mindful, impactful lives. Whether it’s a deep breath before a test, or a pause to reframe before reacting to a colleague, their programs are bringing calm minds to every classroom, so everyone can show up regulated and ready to learn!
We also heard from Gloria Solarz, who presented InclusionWorks. Their mission is to create meaningful engagements and a sense of belonging, dignity and respect for individuals who are differently abled. They believe that through togetherness, inclusion can make a difference for these individuals to feel worthy and self respected. They help them develop life and vocational skills and work as a community and elect a president to run their meetings to decide on how to use funds raised by their activities. Their vocational training includes running a bakery called Sweetie Pies, Bloom – a gardening program which will do projects in the community such growing herbs and infusing with olive oil as well as taking care of plots of land in the community – and Art Splash, which makes art projects that can be sold at fairs and community events.
The third charity was Kids Who Care, presented by Janet Vinciguerra. This organization equips parents with character building tools to empower children and teens.
Other notes addressed at the meeting:
- Our next meeting is July 21, 2026. We’re looking for happy hour sponsors, so please reach out if you’re interested!
- The marketing agency owned by our co-chairs is running a contest to provide a free website to an Ohio non-profit. If you know one who could use a new, robust, and easy-to-maintain website, send them to https://betterweb.gives/.
