Please help us support whole school programs that offer resources and funds to make self-care, stress reduction opportunities and mindfulness training accessible for teachers especially those serving the neediest and most vulnerable children and families.
Our goal this year is $150,000 to develop and resource the Access Mindfulness Teacher Self-Care Initiative pilot program. We aim to optimize and scale this program to include dozens more deserving and under-resourced public schools in New York City. The pandemic has put unprecedented demand on teachers, children, parents and guardians alike. Teachers' workload has spiked in the past two years with having to pivot to remote learning with little support and few resources. This has led to a concerning rise in stress, depression, anxiety, divorce and suicide. Of course, this has had and continues to have a terrible impact on our children.
A new report by the RAND Corporation shows that one in four teachers are seriously considering leaving their profession, an increase of 32% since the pandemic. This alarming trend will directly impact not only the future of families and children, but the quality of living in our beautiful city.
At Access Mindfulness we have supported hundreds of teachers, support staff, children, parents and guardians from diverse backgrounds to manage stress and thrive through challenging times. We are committed to social equity.
Access Mindfulness is focused on the need for inclusiveness and diversity in both facilitating and practicing mindfulness. Mindful awareness and associated practices can can benefit everyone. To enable access to these practices in a way that truly benefits all people, we must reach a diverse group of organizations and individuals who serve or are part of diverse communities, particularly those which are under-served and under-resourced. For more information please see our Vision and Mission statements.
To this end, Access Mindfulness has established a Diversity Fund, contributions to which are tax deductible. Contributions to this fund will be used for direct scholarship support of individuals from diverse backgrounds and those who will enhance availability of professionals trained in this area to diverse communities. Funds can be used to support individuals who represent or will increase access to services among persons of diverse backgrounds, including but not limited to by virtue of ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, class, national origin, economic background, disability status, and other categories. Funds can also be used for program development, consultation, compensation of guest speakers, and other activities that directly relate to the fund’s mission.
To donate to the diversity fund, click the “donate” button below and choose the amount you wish to give. We also welcome in-kind donations of specific goods and services which will specifically support this effort, such as:
To make an in-kind donation or discuss giving in other ways, please contact us.
AM has oceans of gratitude for all of the financial and creative support from our AM community! We especially want to acknowledge The Kofinas Family who have been generous from the start; Shoshana & Beverly who stepped up to make the new site possible; Lonnie Rankin our creative writer who made this website extraordinary; Jan kliger our friend and annual donor; and our friends and family who continue to cheer us on.
We are happy to discuss the implementation of any of our programs, and how they can benefit you and/or your non-profit organization. If you have any questions, or you would like to schedule a meeting, please email us.