Charity yoga class raises £2,000 for Horsham’s foodbank

Meg Thompson, of Heartspace Yoga in Horsham, welcomed 87 participants to the charity event on Saturday, February 13, which has so far raised just over £2,000.

Meg – whose Heartspace Yoga team currently offers a weekly schedule of yoga and meditation classes online via Zoom, said: “I’m delighted that our charity fundraiser for Horsham District Foodbank has, so far, raised £2,040!

“Clearly it’s a cause that’s very close to everyone’s hearts at the moment and – of our seven charity events to date – it’s the most we’ve ever raised.

“We had a real mix of people attending our class, ranging in age from a three year old tot to a yogi who was 78 years young, and from rusty enthusiasts to familiar faces from our weekly classes.

“The theme of our practice was appreciating our lives and all the great things that we have. While acknowledging the difficult emotions and challenges that we all face, I invited attendees to extend their gratitude for their friends and families and that we can put food on the table, and to fully savour our lives and circumstances just as they are.

“So many more people are relying on Horsham Foodbank for help with their basic weekly groceries now. While many of us have cut back a bit, since the pandemic hit, to be in a position where you aren’t able to afford the essentials is a very stark and worrying reality.

“To our truly wonderful yoga community – a huge thank you for joining me on Saturday and for donating, even if you weren’t able to attend.

“Together we’ve made an amazing contribution to this worthy cause and really helped people in our local community.”

Horsham District Foodbank – facilitated by Horsham Matters – works to support families in the local community and has now fed 10,883 children and adults since April 2020 compared to to 2,900 people in the whole previous financial year.

Paula Daly, community fundraiser at Horsham Matters, said: “I would like to say thank you so much to Meg at Heartspace Yoga for organising the charity yoga class for Horsham District Foodbank and to all those who contributed to the funds raised.

“What a truly amazing result that was! It will be put to good use in funding our foodbank work, with the demand for emergency parcels feeding 613 adults and children in January, compared to 258 in January 2020.

“As well as day-to-day parcels, we are currently delivering 210 x 22kg half term family food parcels to households with children who have been referred to us as at risk of going hungry. We could not achieve what we do without such wonderful community spirit supporting our work.”

If you would like to donate to Horsham Foodbank, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Heartspace-Yoga

To find out more about Horsham Foodbank, visit https://horshamdistrict.foodbank.org.uk/

For details of Heartspace Yoga’s weekly online classes, visit https://www.heartspaceyoga.org/schedule