MSU Students Advancing International Development, or SAID, will team up with East Lansing Hot Yoga on Sunday to host a fundraising event for the Aakkam Revolving Scholarship Fund.
The scholarship fund is a nonprofit organization based in India that currently supports nine girls from five villages in rural parts of the country. The organization provides the girls with loans to attend high school or college for one year. SAID member Jacquelyn Panetta said the scholarship fund is self-sustaining.
“The cool thing about the scholarship fund is that it’s revolving,” said Panetta, a communication senior. “What happens is the loans are given out to young women who attend high school or college for a year, and they pay back the loan at an 8 percent interest rate, and the fund goes back to that scholarship fund to support other girls to go to school.”
MSU SAID was formed in 2009 by students in the study abroad program that visited Shanti Ashram, a student in India, during their trip. After the trip, the students wanted to stay in contact with Ashram, leading to SAID’s founding.
To raise money for the non-profit, Shanti Ashram gives SAID projects to choose from. For the second straight year, SAID is hosting a fundraiser at East Lansing Hot Yoga with the goal of raising approximately $6500, enough to send 20 girls from 10 villages to school.
“We (chose hot yoga) because we thought it was especially applicable to MSU,” Panetta said. “We thought that people could relate to raising money for women’s education.”
Patty Sutherland, owner of East Lansing Hot Yoga, 924 Trowbridge Road, is excited to host the event for a second-straight year.
“We did it last year with them, and it was wonderful,” Sutherland said. “That is such an integral part of my studio philosophy to be aiding the community not just locally, but worldwide.”
Two yoga sessions will be held for the fundraiser Sunday, one from noon to 2 p.m. and one from 2-4 p.m. The suggested donation is $10.
“Partnering with Hot Yoga is beneficial because we have a close relationship with Patty,” said SAID member Katie Hoffman. “We’re very fortunate that she’s allowing us to host this fundraiser because she normally does a straight class. Instead, she’s letting us collect donations for the scholarship fund. It’s a very popular thing, and I think it’s a good fundraiser for our organization.”
Hoffman also looks forward to helping those in need with the event.
“It feels really great to help these girls because they come from vulnerable families,” Hoffman said. “They wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to go to college, so be able to help provide them with an education is a great, great thing.”
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