Mindful Astoria Sustaining Fund
Mindful Astoria needs help to support the well-being of our community by creating mindfulness and compassion in daily life through teachings that establish, maintain, and deepen a personal mindfulness practice.
Leader
Mindful Astoria .
Location
2335 Broadway Astoria, NY 11106
About the project
Mindful Astoria would like to support its teachers! They have been extremely generous with their time; supporting this community through a world crisis. Our hope is to raise enough funds so that we can cover teacher stipends, continue to support Astoria First Church, our physical home, where we will return in November, and cover administrative costs like web fees or workshop supplies. In person donations pre Covid were robust, however with the pandemic and Zoom fatigue, recent monthly donations have dwindled to 20% of pre covid contributions. The direct impact of a drastic reduction in donations means we are not collecting enough to cover monthly operating costs.
With support from active members, even in the height of the Pandemic – we kept going. In fact, during these trying times, due to the generosity of teachers and members, we offer many programs to support each other. We are working to keep our hearts together through multiple Meditation Gatherings per week including multiple online programs, Silent Sit, Socrates Sculpture Park Sit, Book Club, Racial Justice Practice Group, Yearly retreats, and an Arts and crafts meetup.
What began as Emily’s “simple” effort to create a space for folks in Astoria to gather and meditate together without having to hop on the train to Manhattan, is today a beloved community/ a sangha / a home for many of us. Our mindfulness practices, our noble intention to care for one another, our interest in cultivating meaningful relationships have inspired almost 2000 people to join our MeetUp group since 2013.
The Steps
- Fund our year-round teacher stipend for eight IDP certified meditation instructors.
- Contribute 25% for space rental to our physical home, Astoria First Church & Art House,
- Update our online broadcast equipment for hybrid sessions
- Cover cost of supplies for meetup events
Why we‘re doing it
Mindful Astoria is a beloved community/ a sangha / a home for our community. Our mindfulness practices, our noble intention to care for one another, our interest in cultivating meaningful relationships have cared for the mental and emotional health of our members. The teachers have guided and supported this community through one of the most challenging times in history and we would like to support the teachers and ensure that this community organization will continue to support and inspire all 2000 of its members.