Karena Lineback will use $5,000 received from Avon to create a Pilates class for Breast cancer patients.
[view:node_ad=5] Karena Lineback, owner of Pilates Teck, received a $5,000 award from Avon’s “Hello Tomorrow Fund,” for the week of September 9, 2008.
Karena will use her winnings to help kick-off “Pilates for Breast Cancer,” a program she created to provide therapeutic and empowering exercises for breast cancer patients and survivors.
The prize money will also go to operating costs for the classes, including yoga mats, materials and instructor fees.
Karena has been a Pilates enthusiast since the age of 24 and opened Pilates Teck four and a half years ago.
Through Pilates Teck, Karena has witnessed the physical and mental benefits when a breast cancer patient or survivor starts incorporating low-impact exercise into a daily routine.
When a friend of hers was diagnosed with cancer nearly four years ago, she was overcome with a desire to step up and “do something.” So, Karena spearheaded many local fundraisers with proceeds going to Circle of Hope.
Now wanting to work with breast cancer survivors and patients on a more personal level, she came up with the idea to offer Pilates to breast cancer patients and survivors so they can not only reap the physical benefits of exercise, but also form friendships and support one another through the difficult and traumatic time in their lives.
She says that she hopes the program’s group setting will also help to reduce the feelings of isolation and depression among the members.