Dear Friends,
Thank you for supporting Ruby's Rainbow the past 5 years!
Five years ago on March 21st, 2020, World Down Syndrome Day, we were all fearfully locked down in the pandemic. Just the week before, we had been dancing together in-person, and now, we were navigating dancing on this new online platform called Zoom. It was then that my former Cupertino elementary school teacher co-worker, Stephanie Byers, and her son, Toshi, introduced Ruby's Rainbow and the 3/21 Pledge to us.
Ruby's Rainbow was our very first fundraiser class on Zoom!
After that year, we slowly left our houses and found outdoor venues to dance in, and continued classes as a hybrid Zoom or in-person experience. Since 2021, Jessica and her daughter, Cassidy, have been hosting this Ruby’s Rainbow fundraiser in-person in San Rafael, and have made it a larger and larger event with rainbow balloons, clothing, accessories, and even cupcakes!
A look back at our donations:
2020: $160
2021: $1417
2022: $2158
2023: $3210
2024: $4854
TOTAL RAISED = $11,799 + 2 scholarships granted in 2023 and now 2024!
Thank you to our wonderful community for helping to raise almost $12,000 the past 5 years! We are so grateful to help support individuals with Down Syndrome achieve their dreams of going to college!
We found the Pot O' Gold!
Saturday morning was magical even before our fundraiser began! Dancers were sending photos of rainbows and double rainbows appearing in the sky before leaving their homes, and also during their drive to our dance class!
In fact, can you believe that the rainbow ended at our garage space??? We were the pot of gold - all $4854 of it - plus all our beautiful dancers full of heart! How incredible is that?
And if that wasn’t enough, after class and for the remainder of the day, more and more dancers kept spotting rainbows and double rainbows. Over a dozen different photos!
Now we know what's at the end of a rainbow...
Love, kindness, compassion, generosity...
and DANCING!
Save the Dates!
Thursday, March 28th, 9:30am @ UUMarin
(240 Channing Way, San Rafael)
Happy Birthday Andrea Spencer!
Please join Andrea as we celebrate her 65th birthday with a guaranteed high-cardio Stop Drop and Dance class followed by treats after class from Andrea up on the church hill!
THEME: Wear Andrea's favorite color, yellow!
Saturday, March 30th, 9:30am @ The Garage
(1 Thorndale Drive, San Rafael)
Happy Birthday Suneela Jain!
Please join Suneela as we celebrate her birthday for the first time! Suneela comes only on Saturdays and recently joined our Belize retreat in January, so she is ready to say YES (hesitantly) to letting us celebrate her!
THEME: Come as you are!
Classes will be cancelled during Spring Break from April 6th to April 13th!
Classes from the previous week will be recorded and available on-demand (free for members, purchase a-la-carte for non-members)
*NEW FOR WEDNESDAYS*
9:30am-10:45am (one class only)
75 Minute Strength & Stretch
Thank you to our pioneer group of women who joined in-person and on Zoom last Wednesday for our new 75 minute Strength & Stretch class! The feedback was great and everyone loved the focus on pure strength exercises followed by all floor stretches!
Bring a HEAVY set of dumbbells (I use 20's!) and a LIGHTER set (I have 8's and 12's). This is a beginner-friendly full body workout for all-levels where you can move at your own pace through the exercises and then finish with yummy and necessary stretches to keep your body feeling great! Small classes, big energy, and accountability with a supportive community!
For those of you who are on the $70/month membership that includes unlimited ONLINE access to all our live zooms, previously-live recorded classes, and on-demand classes… remember this Wednesday class is included IN-PERSON (Stop Drop and Dance classes are $12 additional drop-in).
It is important we add in 2-3x week strength training to our fitness routines! This class is recorded and perfect to do on-demand as well!
When you realize you can create your own sunshine in your life...
Everyone was shining so brightly inside and out last Thursday morning at our 75 minute Stop Drop and Dance birthday class for Sunny St. Germain!
Sunny made a fun and different playlist with songs we haven’t done in a long time, and even a few new ones! Loved our matching gold “Shine Your Light” tanks and all the people that came up front to dance with Sunny!
Thank you for bringing the energy, the smiles and the sunshine!!! Happy Birthday Sunny!
Allow yourself to make mistakes.
Allow yourself to be seen and loved by others.
Allow yourself to trust something new and possibly uncomfortable.
Allow yourself to overcome fear.
Allow yourself to let go of judgement and SHINE.
Have a wonderful week!
Grace
