What We're Blooming, Bloom Foundation Gives Wellness
well·ness /ˈwelnəs/
noun: the state of being in good health, especially as an actively pursued goal.
Our mission is to raise awareness, FUNds, and to provide resources for breast cancer patients and survivors to help enhance their overall wellness and quality of life. We make cancer fun!
We aim to provide resources and a community that encourages practicing daily healthy habits to obtain better physical and mental health outcomes. As a result of overall health, we can have fun! So that instead of just surviving, patients and survivors are thriving.
As we continue to bloom, Bloom Foundation Gives officially appointed Chris Byford as our Director of Wellness. We are ecstatic to have him! Chris joins our family as a 500 RYT, with over 3000 hours of teaching in the last 8 years, most of which have been volunteer hours. As a cancer thyroid cancer survivor, he continues to champion our community as he is currently finishing his Yoga Cancer Specialist Training with Cancer Education Training Institute. He is a believer that life is always happening for you, not to you. We are excited to expand our resources to the Bloom Community with Chris on board!
Director of Wellness
Chris Byford
E-RYT® 200, RYT® 500, and YACEP®
We are currently working on a branded app where we will be able to connect oncology-educated yoga teachers and other cancer wellness advocates to cancer patients and survivors. It will be a space that will house live virtual classes, on-demand classes for yoga tailored to specific breast surgeries, chair yoga, foam rolling classes, meditation, a space for community, personal 1-1 attention, and will be one of the first of its kind to address all levels and meet people where they are. We are also excited about the potential to host a teacher training that will be Yoga Alliance certified, help patients and survivors establish a confident practice, and create community.
Here are the deets:
goal: Create a community to connect cancer wellness advocates, specifically registered yoga teachers who focus on oncology yoga, to breast cancer patients and survivors.
how: A custom branded MindBody app.
what: An app to connect cancer wellness advocates & RYTs to patients and survivors. This will include, but is not limited to, group classes for specific surgeries, restorative, meditation, journaling courses, foam rolling, chair yoga, and yoga for all levels. It will also serve as a place to connect to find women for personal training if they need more personalized resources/attention for their healing and so much more!
where: Virtual on the app (to start/for now) virtual classes can be accessed from anywhere as long as the person has the app/login.
who: You! Oncology certified yogis, at least 200 hr RYT who have been diagnosed with breast cancer (also open to other diagnoses,) or 200 hr RYT that works in the medical field. And breast cancer patients and survivors. (Initial launch will be for breast cancer patients and survivors)
when: The build-out takes 6-8 weeks. The first meeting to get the app started is on May 26, 2021. Our estimated completion is at the end of July.
why: To create an easier way to give access to yoga for breast cancer patients and survivors. We want to give cancer patients the tools to enhance their quality of life so instead of just surviving, they are thriving!
How to help during our mental health month break:
Share what we’re blooming! Send your yoga teacher friends that you think could help this blog and email yoga@bloomfoundation.gives.
Change amazon smile to Bloom Foundation Gives. How To
See if your company has any extra funds they need to donate. (ie. canceled event budgets due to COVID)
Donate on our website or Venmo, @bloomfoundation.
Continue to share and use our meditation resources on our Instagram.
Purchase merch, new merch coming soon!
In case you missed it. Click on the flyer for Cancer and Medical Marijuana 101 Zoom Youtube Link.
Message from Erika, President & Co-Founder
Thank you for your continued support! I am looking forward to a month off to focus on my healing, physically and mentally. I am a 500 RYT as well as a Stage 4 Breast Cancer patient currently in active treatment at UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital with an active tumor in my right breast we are monitoring and doing additional imagining to discuss the potential of surgery or radiation. I am crossing my fingers that prayers and chemo can get rid of this cancer. I hope to come back after this month off with a full cup ready to take on this project and change the lives of so many. I appreciate your support and help with this project so much. It’s a matter of building community and a platform. I hope Bloom Foundation Gives can act as the vessel to provide this!
Peace and love to you all! Talk soon!