In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, SIYLI’s mission to make mindfulness and emotional intelligence practical and accessible is more important than ever. Our programs provide individuals, teams and communities an essential toolkit for managing stress, anxiety, and promoting wellbeing, especially during times of uncertainty. These fundamental skills are particularly valuable in supporting those who are serving others.
In 2020, through the support of generous donors, SIYLI provided these tools to a select group of national nonprofits providing essential community services to attend our flagship program, Search Inside Yourself. Over 200 employees joined SIY with the aim of integrating the tools and practices learned into their teams to build collective resilience, greater well-being, and increased focus.
One key partner organization is Feeding America®, the United States’ largest domestic hunger-relief organization, working to connect people with food and end hunger. Due to the impacts of the coronavirus, Feeding America estimates that more than 50 million people may experience food insecurity, including 17 million children. Through their national network of 200 member food banks, they work to ensure that communities receive a wider variety of nutritious foods while preventing food waste through food rescue.
Megan Whitney, serves as Manager of Network Fundraising Services for Feeding America, working directly with food banks to build fundraising capacity, an essential strategy for increasing equitable access to food. Megan was introduced to mindfulness a few years ago and attended SIY on a colleague’s recommendation. She loved it so much that she connected with SIYLI to bring the program to her organization: she and 25 of her colleagues joined SIY Online together, an experience that she says was “not only meaningful to them as a team, but is having strong ripple effects on food bank teams, too.”
In this video, Megan shares how participating in SIY with her team has been key in supporting them and the communities they serve.