2024 Top Ten: Reflecting on the Last Year
As we celebrate our Top 10 moments of 2024, we're filled with gratitude for the incredible community that makes our work possible. These achievements wouldn't have happened without the unwavering dedication of our staff, the visionary leadership of our board of directors, the generous support of our donors, the invaluable collaboration of our community partners, and the inspiring engagement of our program participants. Each and every one of you plays a vital role in Open Up's success, and we're thrilled to share these highlights with you. Thank you for being part of the Open Up family!
WQED Partnership
Partnership with WQED resulted in free Mindfulness and Yoga Prompt Cards for educators on PBS LearningMedia.
Empowering educators to nurture student well-being was a major focus for Open Up this past year. We're thrilled to have partnered with WQED to create free Mindfulness and Yoga Prompt Cards, now available on PBS LearningMedia. This project represents a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to making mindfulness accessible, and we're excited to see its continued impact in classrooms. Explore the cards and Tessa's introductory video here.
F.I.T. Fest - Fun! Inclusive! Together!
What an incredible experience connecting with hundreds of fitness enthusiasts from all over Pittsburgh! We joined forces to champion Open Up's mission of making wellbeing accessible to everyone.
Last year, Open Up partnered with six Pittsburgh-based fitness centers to build active and healthy communities that fostered movement, wellness, and connection during the giving season. Thick But Fit Crew (East McKeesport), Mecka Fitness (Strip District), Union Fitness (North Side), Arsenal Strength (Lawrenceville), YogaSix (South Hills), and MADabolic (Strip District) participated in the first annual F.I.T. Fest 2023 (Fun, Inclusive, Together) as Advocacy Ambassadors. These Ambassadors hosted fitness events and classes at their studios, promoted Open Up through social media, and fundraised to keep Open Up classes free and accessible. F.I.T. Fest 2023 took place from Tuesday, December 5, 2023, to Sunday, December 10, 2023. More information about this pilot initiative and a schedule of events from last year can be found at open-up.org/fit-fest
Mix, Mingle, Matter
Dozens of community members gathered to discover how they can make a difference through program participation, volunteering, and giving opportunities.
Open Up's Mix, Mingle, Matter even exemplified our commitment to inclusive wellbeing. We believe that everyone deserves to participate fully and confidently in community events. In Spring 2024, we partnered with Lawrenceville United, Evolve Coaching, Friendship Circle, Assemble, BikePGH, and the Lawrenceville Corporation to bring this vision to life at our gathering at Lolev Brewing in our Lawrenceville neighborhood. By prioritizing accessibility and creating a welcoming environment, this event fostered connection, respect, and enriching experiences for all attendees, reflecting our core mission of wellbeing for all.
Self-Advocacy Modules
Empowering students through social-emotional learning, mindfulness, and community care—Open Up staff make a difference in their school day.
Open Up, with support from the FISA Foundation, launched an initiative last year to make our Sunday Safe Spaces discussions even more accessible for all ages. We're developing learning modules from the program footage, geared towards both school-aged students and adults, to empower self-advocacy and broaden perspectives within Open Up and the broader community. The project began with a comprehensive review of the recordings to identify key takeaways and has been offered as a pilot in partnership with Pittsburgh Public Schools.
Open Movement Studio Classes
Moving together as a community, each in our own way.
Our consistent studio class schedule, with offerings nearly every day, has resulted in near-capacity attendance and dozens of returning participants. This strong engagement has enabled us to expand our programming, launching a dedicated caregiver's class, adult ballet, and two autism-specific classes, further demonstrating the community's need for and appreciation of our accessible and inclusive community wellbeing options.
Open Up Team Expansion
Open Up crew gathers at the Field Day office! (Not everyone pictured)
Open Up experienced significant growth last year, doubling our team size and expanding our reach. With the support of our board and expert consultants, we've refined our offerings and broadened our impact, prioritizing accessibility and employee retention every step of the way. This has allowed us to launch new programs and deepen our engagement with the community.
Forbes Magazine Publications
Reaching thousands of readers, Forbes Magazine articles featured Open Up as content experts.
Our collaboration with Forbes EQ on BrandVoice last year was a key highlight, and we're proud to feature it as a top achievement of 2024. This partnership provided a powerful platform to amplify Open Up's mission by reaching a broader, more diverse audience. Through Forbes, we shared our expertise in mindfulness and well-being with business leaders, entrepreneurs, and organizations, especially those serving underrepresented groups. Leveraging Forbes' reach and the Diversity Marketing Consortium's network allowed us to promote systemic equity through mindfulness practices, fostering more inclusive and compassionate workplaces and communities. This is exactly what Open Up is all about: bringing well-being and inclusive practices to as many people as possible!
University of Pittsburgh & AIU Collaboration
Western Pennsylvania Superintendent’s Forum welcomed Open Up to explore wellbeing practices for educators.
Partnership with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit and University of Pittsburgh was a major highlight, demonstrating our commitment to mindful leadership and expanding our impact on learning systems. Our team facilitated a retreat for 60 superintendents directly aligned with our mission of cultivating well-being and resilience, empowering these leaders to create more supportive school environments. This leadership-level focus has the potential to transform entire districts. An additional collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education to create an online course represents a significant step toward systemic change, disseminating mindfulness practices to a wider audience of educators. This partnership increases accessibility and credibility, fostering broader acceptance of mindfulness in education.
Highmark Wholecare Sponsorship
Building community, one smile at a time. Thank you, Highmark Wholecare volunteers!
Receiving our first corporate donation from Highmark Wholecare, a $25,000 gift, was a top highlight of 2024 for Open Up. Beyond the generous financial support, which enabled us to offer 3 months (one quarter) of our Open Movement classes free to the community, the partnership included welcoming Highmark Wholecare employees to volunteer at our studio and connect with our community. This experience, coupled with their investment, encouraged us to continue refining our operations and programming to maximize our impact on community health.
RYT200 Teacher Training
Celebrating our 5th cohort of Yoga Teacher Training graduates! 200 hours spent learning with and from one another. So proud of their dedication!
It is with great pride that we celebrate our 5th Yoga Teacher Training graduates. They completed 200 hours of in-depth study and practice, making them eligible for registration with the Yoga Alliance for international certification. We're incredibly proud to offer accessible and inclusive continued learning opportunities to community leaders who are dedicated to bringing mindfulness and wellbeing to their communities, and making a difference at Open Up. Congratulations, graduates!