April 2023

Greetings, Fostering Meditation Subscribers:

Welcome to April's Newsletter! It seems with each passing month, FM is making a greater mark in the world. Between giving a keynote speech at Deloitte to joining a panel for both the New York Advisory Committee to the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights, and the U.S. Department of Education, April was filled with inspiration and greater intention on how to spread the word of our revolutionary work. Please read along to learn about how FM is shaping the conversation around mental health for our nation's most vulnerable.

In Service,

Demetrius T. Napolitano

Fostering Meditation, Founder/CEO

$15,000 Match Grant

Retail ROI, the funder who invested $10,000 in Fostering Meditation's first Wellness Room at P.S. 108, has pledged to support us again this time with a match grant up to $15,000! So, every dollar FM raises, they will match it. This deal will change many lives as we begin to transform our second Wellness Room so please consider donating so we can continue our work of transforming spaces into Wellness Rooms within NYC's elementary schools!

Keynote Speech at Deloitte

After a year of nurturing my relationship with a Deloitte Partner, I was asked to come speak in front of Deloitte Parents Association and share my journey of growing up in foster care before leading the attendants on a 10-minute practice. FM and Deloitte is currently in conversations to begin a partnership in the near future to bring meditation and yoga to their staff!

Below is a short excerpt from my speech.

United States Department of Education

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U. S. Commission on Civil Rights

After someone heard about my work with Fostering Meditation, they asked if I could join a nation-wide webinar for the U.S. Department of Education to speak about how movement through yoga is positively helping students manage their emotions. After joining the Zoom call, two schools in Maryland reached out to learn how they can replicate our first Wellness Room inside their school (more on this in a future post). Not too long after, a mentor reached out for me to be part of another panel for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to examine how the New York child welfare system has negatively impacted black children and families. Both opportunities gave me the platform to share how FM is leading the conversation around mental health for both youth within and without the foster care system!

GoFund Me for Meditation Pillows

On June 21st, the 8th graders at P.S. 108 will be graduating and heading off to high school. I've been fortunate enough to teach nearly 75 8th graders at my former elementary school since 6th grade, following them and their progress with meditation and yoga. I started a GoFund me to help fulfill a personal goal of giving each graduate their own meditation pillow so they can continue their practice as they transition into high school. I can't promise the students will absolutely use the pillows as they mature, but what I know for certain is if they do have a meditation cushion, then they will see it and remember to breathe and therefore their practice. Please consider supporting our mission of getting our 8th graders a meditation set so they can continue cultivating inward peace.

Returning Partnership with BronxWorks

I taught at BronxWorks last year around this time, and can honestly say that the youth there surprised me by how receptive they were to the class while practicing mindful self-regulation. In my four years of teaching black and brown students, who are often credited with having high amounts of ADHD, I've discovered they can regulate themselves and practice intense focus when carefully and mindfully guided. To see some of my former students in this class and to hear how they have continued their inwards practices, brought my heart a tremendous level of joy and gratitude. I'm super excited to return to BronxWorks and continue teaching FM's students there how to foster meditation!

Sanctuary Institute Speech / Class

Supporting Fostering Meditation

Thanks for reading through our April's Newsletter! I hope you have been inspired by the much needed work we are doing to help jumpstart the healing journey of all of our students in such a time as this. As you know, our service is only possible through generous donations. FM is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization, our EIN number is

13-2612524

Checks can be made payable to FM's fiscal sponsor:

The Fund for the City of NY   

Attn: Dina Runcie, Fostering Meditation

121 Avenue of the Americas, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10013-1590 

Thank you, in advance, for your support of our Revolutionary work!

In Service,

Demetrius T. Napolitano

Fostering Meditation, Founder/CEO

"It is easier to build strong children, than repair broken men."

-Frederick Douglass