Week 34: Here’s Your Reminder Project – Happy Goat Yoga

August 25, 2018

I have wanted to try Goat Yoga for a long time now, so when I came across Happy Goat Yoga for Charity, I was thrilled. These classes serve as a fundraiser for the Here’s Your Reminder, an area non-profit. Proceeds from these classes help them carry out their mission.

Happy Goat Yoga is designed to combine exercise, animals, and positive people to relieve stress, anxiety, and depression. There is something special about enjoying a yoga class while the extremely friendly, and very cute, pygmy goats literally run all over you.

Each session of Happy Goat Yoga is two hours. The first hour is an all-level yoga class taught by one of their local, certified yoga instructors. After the yoga session, there is plenty of time to play some more with the goats and take pictures.

The Happy Goat Yoga events are held at different locations throughout the Dallas area, including Dallas, Richardson, Garland, Frisco, and Allen. Check out this list of their upcoming dates and locations.

My husband Johan and I attended a Saturday morning class at the Dallas Farmers Market. There were about 15 pygmy and dwarf goats, and one exceptionally cute lamb. The staff encouraged the goats to interact (often with treats), and were quick with a broom or some disinfectant when needed—which was often. I admit, we paid a lot more attention to the goats than we did to the yoga. For us, it really was all about the goats. They were all over us (especially Johan–I think they liked his broad shoulders), and we loved it!

As their motto says: “You can’t be grumpy with a goat on your back!” We had a blast.

Here’s Your Reminder Project believes that random acts of kindness should not be random. They suggest doing one act of intentional kindness every day, reminding someone in your life that they matter to you. It can be as small as sending a “Thinking of You” text during the day or as big as a surprise act of service that has been weighing on their to-do list.

Believe me, after a morning of Goat Yoga, you will be inspired to share your joy with others.

 

Week 33: Get Involved in the Election Process

August 13, 2018

This is a blog about volunteering, not politics. However, midterm elections are right around the corner and, sadly, only 42% of registered Americans came out to vote in the last midterms. That is the lowest voter turnout since 1978.

In my opinion, that needs to change. People need to realize that their votes really do matter. One term in the House is two years, so all 435 seats are up for grabs. A Senate term is six years, so about a third of the Senate is up for re-election this year. With issues like healthcare, immigration, and the economy, there is plenty to get excited about.

This week, I signed up to work on a campaign: knocking on doors and making phone calls. I want to be a part of the process. Again, this is a blog about volunteering – not about politics – so find an issue or a candidate that speaks to your beliefs and sign on to help. Volunteer to help with a voter registration drive or at the polls. It’s too important to just let another election pass you by.

This is a nonpartisan post – the only thing that I really care about is that you actually vote. I want you to get registered, get informed, and cast your ballot. Because, as I mentioned, your vote matters.

September 25 is National Voter Registration Day. To get registered to vote, you can start here.

Election Day is November 6. Whatever you do, don’t stay home!

Week 32: The Magdalen House

August 6, 2018

The Magdalen House, or Maggie’s House, as it is known, is a cost-free recovery community for women. Started in Dallas more than 30 years ago, Maggie’s House has called East Dallas’s Little Forest Hills neighborhood home for 22 years.

The Magdalen House is not a treatment center, but a supportive educational environment, providing an intensive orientation to the solution of recovery embodied in the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Maggie’s House offers three distinct programs: Social Detox, Peer Recovery, and Community Outreach. All of their programs and services are offered at no cost. The Magdalen House accepts no government funding and is solely supported by private donations and strong community partnerships.

Trader Joe’s and the North Texas Food Bank donate food for the women to cook for themselves. The For the Love of the Lake board (on which I have served since January) often donates fruit after our Second Saturday events. In turn, the women of Maggie’s House scheduled a special lake clean-up with For the Love of the Lake in May. I enjoyed getting to know the women and was impressed by what they are doing in our community. I also appreciated their efforts to give back to the local organizations that are supporting them. It’s a win-win for the entire community.

The Bar Method (White Rock), where I have been taking barre classes since June, has also teamed up with Maggie’s House. The shared goal of building healthy bodies and minds in East Dallas is the perfect partnership. Bar Method is hosting special donation-based classes to support Maggie’s House, and is also holding a supply drive for much needed items. This week I selected several items off the “donations list” to bring to class.

The Magdalen House has a wide array of volunteer opportunities that include working directly with women in their Social Detox Program as sponsors, providing administrative support to staff, and helping out with house maintenance.

What organization is helping people in your neighborhood, and how can you assist them in their mission?

 

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