Step Up for Open Up - We Need Support
People with disabilities deserve spaces where they can feel healthy, welcome, and included. For 10 years, Open Up has been building inclusive spaces where people of all abilities can connect, move, and learn tools to care for themselves and others. Now this work is in danger due to recent shifts in federal funding priorities that have left us with a large funding gap.
If you believe that people with disabilities deserve to be seen, supported, and thrive, now is your chance to contribute to our mission. Make a donation today to help Open Up keep its doors open in our tenth anniversary year.
Donate to our Emergency GoFundMe Campaign.
What is Open Up?
We believe that all people deserve access to wellness practices, community support, and the opportunity to feel better in their bodies and minds. To achieve this we offer:
Free community classes: Yoga, improv, dance, and other joyful activities hosted at our studio or at community centers, public spaces, and online.
Professional workshops: Professional development for diverse audiences, including tailored mindfulness training, curriculum development, consultations on workplace accessibility and inclusivity, and a 200-hour accessible Yoga Teacher Training Certification.
School & Youth programming: Bringing mindfulness and movement practices into PreK-12 classrooms to support students' physical and mental well-being, and offering no-cost after school and summer camps and clubs.
Advocacy: Amplifying the voices and experiences of community members by fostering dialogue, community ties, and strengthening relationships with participants and stakeholders through events, newsletters, conversations, and collaborations.
How will Open Up use your donation?
Our work centers the needs of people with disabilities—and yet we create spaces that truly welcome everyone and we offer no-cost programming as a point of accessibility. Our aim is to remove barriers to well-being. We will use the funds raised to:
Keep our classes free to the public
Pay teaching artists and staff fairly
Expand access to our programs through virtual and community-based programming
Continue our work to center equity and disability justice
Donate to our Emergency GoFundMe Campaign.
How much should I donate?
We appreciate any contribution – no gift is too small. This is what your donation supports:
$10 covers partial participant fees in a free community class
$50 covers the materials needed for one day of school programming
$100 covers costs of one of our weekly free Caregivers community classes
$357 keeps us open for one day
$2,500 supports our studio space for 1 week
$10,000 supports our studio space for 1 month
Donate to our Emergency GoFundMe Campaign.
Can’t give? We know times are tough for so many right now – if you can’t make a donation, please help us spread the word by sharing this widely within your own networks and community. AND, if you’d like to hold a fundraiser for Open Up in our studio please reach out!