GREENVILLE – Ty Baker-Baumann is starting to see her non-profit organization, The Good Stuff Foundation, take off and reach under-served groups in Darke County and beyond.
Baker-Baumann began The Good Stuff Foundation a couple years ago to talk to people about physical, mental and emotional health. The foundation specifically targets groups that might not have access to similar resources because of financial issues, disabilities or other constraints.
“The goal of the foundation is to be able to provide services to people who might not otherwise have access so we do yoga classes, we’re doing stress reduction, we’re doing meditation and mindfulness – just generally educating people about health and wellness,” she said.
Baker-Baumann has worked as a yoga teacher since 2010 and found it to have a multitude of benefits including physical, mental and emotional. Thus she made yoga a large part of the foundation along with other features including breathing techniques, demonstrations and conversations about health.
“There’s a lot of possibilities I guess is what I’m saying,” Baker-Baumann said. “It’s just a matter of letting people know that these programs are something that are available.”
On Friday morning, Baker-Baumann met with the Darke County Board of Developmental Disabilities’ Advocacy in Action group. Almost 25 people talked about their morning routines and what they needed to do to own their morning and set themselves up for a good day.
Friday’s discussion aimed to help the Advocacy in Action members become self-advocates, Darke County Board of Developmental Disabilities Community Connections Coordinator Sue Huston said.
For some of the Advocacy in Action members, a good morning began with making their beds while others wanted to avoid that chore. Some wanted to start their day with music while others preferred peace and quiet.
“What works for you might not work for somebody else, and that’s OK,” Baker-Baumann said. “This is about your day.”
Along with the Darke County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Baker-Baumann has worked with Gateway Youth Programs. This past summer she taught youth yoga classes as part of Gateway’s nutrition and fitness curriculum. She also helped students in the alternate school earn physical education credit and taught them how to reduce stress.
She’s also met with senior citizen groups and helped people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. She’s in the process of developing a program for prenatal moms.
“That’s really what the foundation is all about – giving people tools in their toolbox,” she said. “It can be a broad topic about wellness in general or something as specific as post-traumatic stress disorder or maybe cancer recovery or grief and loss.”
The best part of her work with The Good Stuff Foundation has been seeing people enjoying their opportunities to participate in classes and conversations, Baker-Baumann said.
“They enjoy it,” she said. “They feel like they’re getting something. They take those tools home with them. So that’s probably been the best thing, just to see that the program is reaching people and that they’re able to take the things that they learn into their everyday life to make their day better.”
The Advocacy in Action group is an especially enjoyable group to work with, Baker-Baumann said.
“This is always such a fun group,” she said. “They get so enthused about virtually anything you do with them. They just really make it a joy to do these kind of programs because they’re always interactive, they’ve always got ideas, they’ve always got questions, they almost always want to participate.”
For more information about The Good Stuff Foundation, visit its website at www.goodstuffcenter.org or visit its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/goodstuffinohio/.