Horsham yoga class raises £1,000 in one hour for Australian Bushfire Relief fund

Meg Thompson led a class of 85 people, aged from five to 70, for an hour-long session.

The class took place in Millais School on Sunday, February 16, and at last count donations to the charity reached £1,031.25.

The fund helps to restore the land and wildlife habitats that were damaged in the fires.

The Salvation Army has been offering practical and emotional support to those fleeing from their homes due to the bushfires.

In the harder-hit areas, the charity’s emergency services have been providing food for the public and firefighters as well as mattresses, bedding and personal hygiene items.

Meg Thompson owns the Yoga with Meg network that offers weekly yoga classes in Warnham, Horsham, Worthing and Littlehampton.

She has now hosted six yoga fundraisers, with previous charities including Help Refugees and the mental health charity Mind.

She found yoga when she was living in Sydney and working in a stressful event management job. The hobby led her to train in Bali to become a yoga teacher, which became her full-time career after returning to her hometown Horsham.

Meg said: “Although our media is awash with ‘new’ news stories, Australia is still in turmoil. Even though heavy rains have extinguished the bulk of the fires, huge relief efforts are still needed to address the colossal damage.

“It’s just tragic to think about the impact of the rampant fires on people, animals, homes and habitats.

“The fires are believed to have claimed at least 33 lives and researchers estimate that over a billion animals have now perished, with some species being at risk of extinction.

“Thousands of homes have been destroyed and an area the size of England has been damaged. This is life-changing stuff. It will take a long time for Australia to recover.

“I’m delighted that we’ve raised over £1,030, with some contributions still coming in via our JustGiving page.

“Thank you once again to all those who came along and contributed so generously to the work of this charity. It’s always so touching, teaching a roomful of people who are there to support a good cause.”

For more information, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/yogawithmegcharity