Hindu American Seva Communities: Invitation to Yoga Pala Challenge

Yoga PALA Challenge 2011

Dear friends and yogathon partners

The yogathon launched on Katrina’s anniversary last year was a resounding success because of the widespread participation. Our collective efforts were noticed and recognized nationally and by the White House.

Building on the success of the Yogathon/YogaSeva, now, Hindu American Seva Charities has partnered with the President’s Challenge Program, a program of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition to promote the participation in the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) by:

Ø Launching a national Yoga PALA Challenge to encourage and motivate individuals across the country to achieve PALA by participating in yoga

Ø Promoting a healthy lifestyle through yoga and nutrition

Collectively, we have an opportunity to take a leadership role in advocating health and healthy living through the best of our culture and tradition – YOGA – accompanied by nutrition. We can reach our Pala Challenge goals.

At this time, HASC is putting together a team to help coordinate this national effort. We would like to invite you to be part of it. Would you like to serve on the Committee to develop an outreach strategy and mobilize our community to promote yoga in our temples, yoga studios, schools, colleges, places of work and worship? We are continuing to make history…

The outreach and mobilization strategy will be presented at our conference and the White House briefing on July 29 – 31^st. We plan to launch the Yoga Pala Challenge on August 1, 2011. Our time to plan and implement is short. And the time do it is is NOW!!!

q Planning June 10 – June 30, 2011.

q Outreach begins July 1 – July 31, 2011

q Yoga PALA Challenge August 1 – September 2011… and then ongoing

We need volunteers to be part of the leadership steering committee and be involved in all aspects of the project. We need volunteers in every state throughout the country to come together, unite, inform yoga students/participants/yogis to log in their time on the PALA website and help bring yoga to the forefront. This tracking will quantify the positive impact of yoga to our country. Measure what you treasure!

Please let us know what role you would like to play in developing and implementing this program. The success of this program lies in your hands. Just as you made yogathon possible, you can make the PALA challenge possible. Attached are highlights of the program on the PALA Challenge.

Please click on the link (www.hinduamericanseva.org/yoga-pala-challenge) to complete the form to indicate your interest. We will host our first conference call to start the strategy development on Tuesday, July 14^th at 9 pm EST. Please let us know of your participation on the first call.

Thank you

Hindu American Seva Charities