May 16, 2023

 

Greetings, Fostering Meditation Subscribers:

 

 

As we close out National Foster Care Awareness Month, FM is expanding its reach into the lives of hundreds of foster youth, helping them nurture their mental development through our Five Steps 2 Wellness. May was filled with many inspiring moments that serve as a reminder of the importance of our work teaching calmness and peace in such a time as now. Please read along to hear some exciting updates, news, and expanding opportunities!

 

In Service,

Demetrius T. Napolitano

CEO / FOUNDER

ABC SPECIAL ON

FOSTERING MEDITATION

After a reporter from ABC news researched "meditation for foster youth" to do a segment for Foster Care Awareness Month, FM popped up and they reached out to interview myself and two of my students. Press play to watch another powerful news segment on our revolutionary work!

 

7th grader Jayaheir 2nd time on TV for FM

 
Support
 

5th grader Janiyah showing her excitement

 
Our Work

JCCA's 12-week

FM Program

The past twelve weeks teaching current foster youth at JCCA's Bronx location how to regulate themselves through meditation, heal their bodies through yoga, and release their thoughts through writing while introducing them after each class to different plant-based foods, has been a staple of my teaching career.

It's no surprise I cried during our last session, given their impact on my life. I saw myself in each of these young folks at some point during our classes, and I genuinely hope they saw in me what possibilities could be if only they heal themselves and go forth unafraid.

For the next twelve weeks, I am teaching at JCCA's residential center in Pleasantville, NY, which has already been a transformative experience for myself and a handful of foster youth I'm serving there. Below is a picture of myself with two of my newer students who have already gravitated toward the healing practices with such awesomeness!

Creating Peace in our Wellness Room

Meet Aaron and Noah: Two third graders who recently got into a small fight during recess. Rather than suspending the boys, they were sent to our Meditation Room to resolve their conflict peacefully. After leading the boys through mindful yoga to release their built-up emotions, I guided them through a lovingkindness meditation, where they cultivated thoughts of peace with one another and then with themselves. I then asked them to come up with some solutions they could do next time conflict arises, to which they responded: "Walk away," "Take a few mindful, deep breaths," and "Tell the teacher."

While these solutions may not seem massive, they are a start to the boys managing and responding rather than reacting to their emotions. Frederick Douglass famously said, "It is easier to build strong children than repair broken men." In F.M.'s P.S. 108 Wellness Room, we are building our children to be strong, mindful, and caring students so they can become the holistic and healthy adults the world needs.

Classes with Seamen's Society for Children and Families

After Seamen Society reached out to do a few classes with their Staten Island and Brownsville location, I couldn't wait to partner with them to teach their staff how to destress through the practices. What makes this partnership special is I get to return to Brownsville, Brooklyn where I lived when I was a 18-year-old running around in the streets with no direction, to now being 28 and teaching peace in a community that desperately needs more mental health support.

 

I was filled with gratitude when one of the staff, who worked there for over 19 years, thanked me after class and spoke about how much she appreciated the organization finally investing in their staff's mental health: "The youth in the system aren't the only ones needing support for their well-being -- we the staff need it as well if not more!" I left the Ville that afternoon knowing FM and I was making a major difference in the lives of people who are continuously serving their community!

HeartShare, St. Vincent Services Partnership

Teaching an hour of yoga/meditation class to foster youth at HeartShare was another full-circle moment for me. This community room is inside Wyckoff Projects, where I first lived when I re-entered foster care at 13. I only realized the neighborhood because it's one of the only project buildings that are colored white. As I walked to the class, I began reminiscing about the time I lived in these houses, from being a young teenager filled with anger, confusion, and loneliness, to returning as a man on a mission to help others regulate their emotions through meditation.

 

Little did I know this would be one of my most challenging classes as not only around 30 youths showed up, but a good chunk of them stopped practicing halfway through and would unintentionally interrupt class by laughing, talking, and making impulsive noises. Then there was a moment at the very end where I slightly lost my patience and had to tell the young men that while we can have fun and laugh, this was a moment for seriousness, for you're learning how to regulate yourselves in a time where black boys are shot and killed over the perception of being threatening.

 

Everyone in the room fell silent as my words of realness resonated. Sometimes I have to step out of my Zen to show our black youth these practices aren't just about feeling good at the moment but can be a deciding factor between life and death. I was thankful a few young men approached me after class and thanked me for my words and the class. Leaving Wyckoff projects, I couldn't help but remind myself to "leave space for grace" for those young men were me when I was their age, and now I am being who I needed, so I must not lose heart but continue forward!

25% Fundraising Goal Met!

F.M. has already raised nearly $3,000 of our $10,000 goal to supply hundreds of foster youth and 8th-grade students at P.S. 108 with their own F.M. Meditation Cushion. From someone who sees firsthand how the youth are building their inwards practices, they will continue to develop their practices at home if they have the tools to remind them of their practice. So, please support our mission of supplying our students with their ZaZen mats. I know F.M.'s 8th graders, who are all preparing for high school, and all the foster youth I am teaching will appreciate your support!

Meditation Pillows for 8th graders & foster youth, organized by Demetrius Napolitano

My name is Demetrius Napolitano, and I am the founder of Fostering Meditation (F.M.), a Wellness nonprofit based in Harlem, NY. We teach underserved youth and those in foster care how to use meditation and yoga to jumpstart their healing. I started F.M.

Supporting Fostering Meditation

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

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