The 100WomenStrong 2024 Grant Cycle application window closed on November 1st. Please see our Grant Process page for more information about the application process. Nonprofits who were selected to move on to the next stage will be notified by December 18, 2023.

Nonprofits Partner to Bring Mindfulness to At-Risk Children

Studies have shown that lack of food security or unstable domestic environments can cause stress that affects a child’s entire wellbeing, from education to health. Mindfulness can help children in those at-risk situations reduce stress, regulate emotions and focuths cognitively. First-time 100WomenStrong grant recipient Five Stones Wellness Institute is partnering with former grant recipient INMED Partnership for Children to bring mindfulness to area at-risk children to help them gain greater control of their lives.

Five Stones is a wellness and healing center that bases its methodology on healthful eating, balanced movement, integrative medicine, mindful stress management and interconnected living. Led by Dr. Martha Calihan, Five Stones includes mindfulness as one of its core practices, because the act of focusing on the present moment and accepting it can be critically important in times of stress.

Mindfulness also has been shown to improve physical and emotional symptoms. By bringing mindfulness training to INMED Partnership, Five Stones aims to teach children self-support mechanisms for times of crisis.

The children are learning ways to bring mindfulness into their daily lives through healthy menus and de-stressing techniques, and surveys conducted by INMED program staff show that 75% of the students who use mindfulness techniques demonstrate an ability to calm themselves and regulate their emotions. In addition to working with children in the afterschool program, Five Stones is planning summer mindfulness mini-camps at INMED. Bi-weekly mindfulness sessions will begin in September 2017 and continue through the 2017-2018 school year.

Dr. Calihan appreciates the ability to expand the program, saying, “The Five Stones Institute is thrilled to have been awarded a grant from 100WomenStrong to further our work in bringing the incredible tool of mindfulness to our community and, in particular, to the children at INMED. We believe passionately in the power of mindfulness as a foundational tool in the creation of a healthy lifestyle and in the mitigation of stress.”

 

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100WomenStrong is a proud fund of Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties