Hi I'm Aimee - I am hoping to raise £2000 to assist Cornwall Yoga Centre Ltd - my social enterprise company with a targeted marketing campaign to raise the awareness of the potential Yoga has to provide low cost health care support for vulnerable members of our community.
Cornwall Yoga Centre is a not for profit company. Our aim is to provide very high quality provision of Yoga instruction to assist in the development and maintainance of the health of our whole community.
I have personally self funded the establishment of the venue but now my company requires help with funding to enable me to spread the word about the help our classes can provide - our new Yoga Centre is nearly ready to open and I have two main passions at this time that I would like to promote with professionally designed marketing materials.
1. Teenage health - Stress related illness and poor posture are increasingly causing problems for young peoples enjoyment of life. It has come to my attention that stress related illnesses are increasingly common in under 18's - I would reckon that for every one that makes it to my door there are at least 10 who do not know about yoga or that it may help them to feel better. An hour of Yoga a week can really help to make a HUGE difference in quality of life - short and long term. I am being contacted by worried parents of kids with stress problems it is often the case that at the age of 13-16 kids have to be really ill before they take the advice of a parent so I want to access the kids through other avenues. I need to get leaflets and posters in schools and onto websites that will help teens to self refer themsleves to yoga.
2. Pregnancy and post natal Yoga - the NHS has cut the number of times a pregnant women gets to see healthcare workers both during pregnancy and after the birth. Accessing pre and post natal classes can provide a vital link for women not only with a source of information and self help techniques but also with other women in the same situation. Women benefit hugely from social interaction - it is how we 'de-stress' so Yoga teachers always incorporate a social element in a maternity class - not just because tea and biscuits is the 'British way' but because this is a vital part of the class.
BWY Pregancy yoga teachers are all BWY diploma holders (this is a 3 year training) before they carry on to train to teach pregnant women - are really well trained in providing care for the physical health of the mother. I need help to get leaflets and information to health care providers, GP surgeries, chemists etc to inform expectant mothers about the benefits of a yoga class.
Ultimately I would like the business to be able to use its profits to provide funding and bursaries for teens and mums on low income to access our classes for free. I am also in the process of developing my company to make it 'pitch ready' so that it can begin to access tenders for health care assistance funding from various comissioning sources - this will enable me to offer courses and classes to a wide range of people at lower or no cost to the consumer.