Building a business is hard work. I started YBC® in 2012 and initially, hadn’t set out to make it a business. I was just writing a little yoga lifestyle blog as a fun way to keep myself busy. Things started to change quickly, and before I knew it, I did my first hire, developed Mantra Box®, and started planning retreats. What started as a fun little project grew into YogaByCandace LLC with a handful of employees, and under that, we also launched Namaslay® Studios Online and the brick and mortar space in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
My mission, once this turned into a viable business, was to help small businesses as much as possible. I grew up in a family of small business owners, so it was a mission near and dear to my heart. That was the foundation of Mantra Box®.
As the business grew, I wanted to give back in more philanthropic ways. Two years ago, a friend volunteered for her third stint at Lesvos Refugee Camp in Greece. I asked my accountant if we as a business could donate, and he said we weren’t quite there yet, but that we could get creative with it and donate in other ways.
As you may know from my Instagram Stories, PR companies often send me packages in the hopes that I’ll share on IG. While I am always grateful to receive them, it got to a point where my shelves were overflowing with products. I am just one person, and can only use so much. So, I put it out there on the ‘gram that for one full weekend, if people made a $10 or $20 donation, they would get 3 or 5 goodies from the shelves. While the business couldn’t afford to donate cash, we were able to donate product to people, pay for shipping and the shipping material and in that weekend, we were able to send over $1500 to the refugee camp. They used the money for food, diapers, and other goods that they put in their free groceries room. It felt so good.
Last year, with the opening of the studio, we gave back via weekly donation classes. We invited people to bring in non-perishables and personal care items for a local shelter, and we gave back locally.
This year, we are ready to do something bigger. I’m thrilled to have Ashley at the helm of our Philanthropic Mission this year, as she has a background in vetting non-profits, and has done extensive work in grant writing, program evaluation, needs assessments, and project management.
Each quarter, we will be partnering with a non-profit organization. Our mission is two-fold:
We’d like to use our platform to help raise money for their organization.
We’d like to use our platform to help spread awareness about the organization.
Each non-profit we partner with will be vetted by Ashley and our team to ensure responsible fiscal management and transparency, excellent donor relations, program efficacy, and a mission driven allocation of resources are high priority.
This quarter, we are partnering with the Organization for Autism Research. As you may know, I used to be a school teacher, and I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the most incredible children with autism. Everyone on our team knows someone with autism (1 in 68 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with autism), and when we learned about this organization, it just seemed like a good way to kick off our 2020 philanthropic mission.
We like this organization because of their transparency, allocation of resources, and diverse set of programs for supporting research, education, employment and quality of life for families and individuals of the autism community. When you make a donation, you can choose which of their programs you want to support, and you’re even given an option to make the donation as a tribute to someone else, or see if your employer will match your donation for greater impact. Here are some of the ways OAR uses donor funds:
$10 provides a Curriculum in a Box professional development set to general education teachers.
$25 provides 15 copies of A Guide to Safety to families and first responders.
$100 provides the Kit for Kids peer education resource to an entire elementary or middle school.
$150 provides 100 copies of a Life Journey through Autism guidebook sent to a community support group or military installation.
$1,000 provides a research grant for a graduate student studying autism.
$3,000 provides a scholarship for a student with autism to attend college.
$30,000 fully underwrites an applied research pilot study.
Here’s how the YBC® Community can Give Back this quarter:
10 Day Social Media Challenge for Autism Awareness & Fundraising
Join us for a 10 Day Social Media Challenge for Autism Awareness & Fundraising. From Feb 1 - 10, you are invited to post on Instagram using the calendar above. You can share these posts on your Stories or on your feed, and if you follow @ybcevents , you’ll see daily Story templates you can screenshot for easy sharing. You are welcome to consider this a yoga challenge, and post a photo of a pose that embodies each day’s word for you, or if you’d like, choose any photo or message that communicates the feeling of the day’s guiding word - and on the last day, share something that you want us to know about yourself. These can be photos of family and friends, nature, inspiring words, selfies, whatever calls to you, but please do the following in each post:
Use hashtags #autismawareness and #ybcgivesback
Tag each of our sponsors:
Use the rafflecopter widget below to record your entry (You only need to do this once.)
Prizes for our social media challenge winners - we will pick three winners
What’s in it for you
Well, aside from using social media to help spread awareness about the Organization for Autism Research, we are offering up a couple of giveaways from the YBC® team and our generous partners.
Giveaway 1: Team YBC® will send 3 participants of the social media challenge a box of tea, a dry shampoo set, and a natural yoga mat sanitizing spray- goodies you might find in a Mantra Box®. All you have to do is post each day of the challenge, using the sponsor tags and hashtags listed above, to be entered. We’ll DM the winners.
Giveaway 2: Make a monetary donation to OAR, send us proof of your support, and we’ll enter you for a chance to be one of 3 winners to receive:
An Everyday Yoga Mat from B Yoga ($84 value) - Their 4mm Everyday has been their top selling mat since the beginning. The B MAT Everyday is designed with every-yogi in mind. Super sweaty and fast moving, or room-temp with long holds -- the B MAT Everyday is for every-practice.
A Neck Relief Ergonomic Cervical Pillow from Cushion Lab ($55 value) - Specially shaped by in-house ergonomists, the Neck Relief Ergonomic Cervical Pillow is designed to gently cradle the head and stretch the neck, allowing the neck to maintain its natural curve to release pressure and enhance healthy alignment for a relaxing sleeping experience.
Morning Sidekick Journal from Habit Nest ($26.90 value) - This journal is a life coach, accountability partner, and teacher all in one. It provides the perfect research-based strategy for becoming an early riser and teaches you everything you need to know about the habit-building process. This is the tool to help you establish the morning routine that’s right for you, help you track the benefits of your progress, and offers daily tips for refining your best mornings and healthiest habits.
3 products of your choice from Rowe Casa Organics (values range from $12 - $35 each) - Rowe Casa Organics provides natural products to help your entire family thrive. With lines of organic products for health, housekeeping, hair, skin, sleep and more, they have you covered on every front. Winners can choose 3 from the products pictured below.
If you’d like to make a monetary donation, please:
Send your donation directly to the Organization for Autism Research here
In order for your donation to count as an entry to our giveaway, please email your confirmation or a screenshot of your donation to ashley (at) yogabycandace dot com.
Giveaway Terms: This giveaway is open to everyone within the US. Three winners will be picked for both giveaways on Tuesday, February 11th.
We hope you’ll join us in giving back this year! If you have any questions about the giveaway or future fundraising efforts, feel free to drop them in the comments section below!