This August, PACT is celebrating Lorraine as our Supporter of the Month. Always busy and active, Lorraine has been running her own yoga business in Berkshire for the last ten years. Mybodymyyoga offers one-to-one sessions, classes and fabulous retreats. Lorraine said, “The yoga sessions are very accessible to all and we are passionate about everyone being able to benefit from the breathwork, movement and meditation techniques.” Check them out!
Lorraine told us how she found about PACT:
“Every year we select a charity to support on a fundraising week and this year we chose Alana House Women’s Community Project. One of our regular yoga students brought the project to our attention after having volunteered on behalf of the project for some time. They were very enthusiastic about the positive impacts that are achieved for the vulnerable women and families needing the services of Alana House.”
In June, Lorraine raised a generous £350 by donating class fees and taking additional donations from students. Some of the students even generously increased their donation when they heard about the Alana House coffee machine breaking.
Lorraine said: “At the time we committed to supporting Alana House, we were advised how this formed a vital part of the community café that is run by and for the women who access Alana. We were further encouraged to raise that bit more than usual to help replace the machine, enabling Alana House to train people to become baristas and serve coffee when the café is open.”
Through Lorraine’s support, the Alana House café is once again able to serve delicious coffees to the women who access Alana House and its regular visitors. More importantly the café is able to provide the barista training to women ready to get back into work.
Safiya, one of the Alana House team, said: “The community café provides a safe, welcoming and inclusive space where service users can build connections which helps to reduce social isolation and promote a sense of belonging among the women who run it and attend it. The café is managed by service users with the support of staff and volunteers. Through barista training, the baristas have gained valuable skills, increased their confidence, and has helped them to take meaningful steps towards personal and professional growth.”
When asked what they thought of the new coffee machine, our Alana House baristas said: “The newly purchased coffee grinder makes coffee-making a breeze, from its quiet function to perfectly ground coffee. It minimises waste and has helped to make even better coffees than before. We love it!”
In response to being our Supporter of the Month, Lorraine said: “We felt very humbled but excited to be nominated as PACT’s Supporter of the Month! We were just pleased to be able to help such a worthwhile charity and cause and play a small part in creating some hope for families.”
PACT is blown away by Lorraine, her team and their students’ kindness, effort and donation and we give Lorraine a huge thanks for all she’s done to help PACT continue to make a difference.
