Sweet Charity... Pilates Style! Open Thread

Though not yet published as of this posting, I'm writing to alert readers here to the ProZone feature article I recently authored for the January/February 2009 issue of Pilates Style Magazine entitled, "Sweet Charity."

As you might guess, the article targets how one can effectively incorporate philanthropy and charitable giving into the ordinary and ongoing activities of running a professional Pilates practice or studio.

And how one can ensure at least a modicum of reciprocal benefits and returns for one's efforts.

I'm grateful to Pilates Style for inviting me to guest-author this ProZone piece and for deeming the subject worthy of such high-profile attention. ProZone is one of the magazine's regularly featured columns and it typically enjoys very high visibility, readership and response.

I hope you will read the article (upon publication, it can be found quite easily here - on page 86 - at Pilates Style Magazine online). I'm posting this open thread in hopes of stimulating a lively discussion - a "give-and-take" if you will - on the article itself, on its ideas and suggestions, on the anecdotes in the essay, or on any other aspect of "Sweet Charity" you'd like to toss back and forth.

So, please consider this Open Thread one in which your thoughts and comments are welcome and encouraged. And I will make every effort to moderate, participate and reply as much as necessary or as requested.

Thanks for reading the article and I hope you'll share your thoughts and reactions.

Kyria

Radical Times, Radical Philanthropy

Sometimes the greatest rewards come from giving to those with the greatest need. After witnessing the ravages of war in her native Colombia, Christina Alban, owner of Pilates Colombia in Bogotá, found the courage and the heart to help restore and retrain the body of a legless soldier.

From the Pilates Style Magazine article previously discussed in the Open Thread Post above:

"Cristina Alban, owner of Pilates Colombia, in
Bogotá, gave free sessions to a soldier
who lost both legs to a landmine in her
country. “He belongs to the nonprofit
organization Querido Soldado, or Dear
Soldier, run by one of our studio clients,”
says Alban. “The program provides training
for injured soldiers to help them to
compete in handicapped sporting events.
Working for a common cause brought
my staff closer together.”

After her work with Querido Soldado,
Alban noticed that her revenues were
increasing. “There was an enhanced loyalty
from our regular clients,” she says. If
you choose to train a client gratis, ask
permission to chart his progress and
share it with the media."

Is there an indigent or low-income handicapped center where you live and work? And if there is, could any of the residents benefit from your expertise?

Any retired military living nearby? If so, could a seriously handicapped or war-disabled Veteran use your professional help? Could you, as a Pilates practitioner, help someone to regain lost movement and to restore compromised physical abilities? And, if so, might the media be interested in a story like that?

Has anyone else out there tried anything like what Christina has done in Bogotá? And if so, would you be willing to share your story here?

Not long ago, Christina shared photos with me of her studio's extraordinary effort on behalf of this remarkable - and hugely courageous - young soldier.

As you might imagine, the pictures were very moving and very inspiring.

Kyria --

Helios Center's Jenna Wilayto takes the lead...

Here's another of the stories you'll find in the Pilates Style ProZone article referenced in the "Sweet Charity" Open Thread post above. Read how Jenna Wilayto, owner of Chicago's Helios Center for Movement, responded to a critical and potentially life-threatening family medical crisis by transforming some of her experiences into a deeply-rooted giving back to her community:

"A personal connection motivated
Jenna Wilayto, owner of Helios Center
for Movement in Chicago. “My mother’s
recovery from breast cancer inspired me
to use my business as a resource to help
others with similar diseases,” Wilayto
says.

First she started donating proceeds
from studio events to Pilates for Pink, a
national fund-raising effort for the Breast
Cancer Research Foundation. Then she
began teaching movement classes to
members of Gilda’s Club, a cancer support
group named for the late comedian
Gilda Radner.

“I don’t pretend that I can
erase the experience of the disease,”
Wilayto says. “I simply share the joy of
movement and hope that I make a difference
in these women’s lives.” Wilayto
benefited too: Working with a new population
expanded her teaching skills and
professional network."

Have any of you done something similar in your community? Any questions for Jenna? Comments?

Kyria

Welcome to Philanthropic Pilates!

Philanthropic Pilates is a new forum established for the purpose of sharing experiences and promoting ideas relative to the philanthropic activities of Pilates professionals and studio owners across the United States and around the world. We welcome you, one and all, to this conversation and invite you to share your thoughts and ideas about how we might give back to our communities and we invite you to add comments to other blog posts as you are inspired to do so.

Since this is a family-friendly community forum and an apolitcal blog, formal posting rules should not be necessary. However we do ask that you keep your comments informative and as civil as possible, that you generally avoid profanity (for its own sake... exceptions will, of course, arise) and that you treat other posters to this blog with the same courtesy and respect you would want accorded to you.

Once again, welcome and we look forward to getting acquainted with like-minded Pilates professionals who are ready to share and explore the possibilites of an ever-enhanced philanthropic approach to the business of Pilates.

Kyria