I’m sure many of you are going through a lot right now. Loss of your job, trouble paying your rent, maybe you or a family member had a health scare, or you weren’t able to attend your child’s graduation, or a wedding was moved and had to attend it on ZOOM, or just maybe you haven’t been able to meet your new grandchild yet. These are all very real problems that so many of us are facing right now. In these times, it can feel almost impossible to stay positive.
My situation is incredibly fortunate, including the fact that my mom, Lori Laub, exudes positivity and light to everything she touches. Lori is a barre instructor that decided to set up free online classes to her Facebook page Heroes Raising The Barre and Instagram @LoriLaub following every Sunday live at 10AM. The classes are donation only and give back to a highlighted hero each week. What started out as a dinner-table idea became something bigger than we could have ever imagined.
Lori raises over $1,000 each week for a local organization that has stood out as a hero amidst the crisis. She has raised money for a local eatery Skinny Buddha Organic Kitchen in Mt. Kisco, NY to help deliver meals to 5 floors of front liners at Northern Westchester Hospital, fed over 20 families for a season in Mt. Vernon, NY with fresh produce from Rock Steady farm, provided a hot meal for staff for their appreciation cheering line at The JCCA Cottage School in Pleasantville by EXIT4 Food Hall in Mount Kisco, NY, provided an appreciation lunch to Country Children’s Center in Katonah, NY with Primavera Restaurant & Bar and most recently will deliver a Shabbat meal from Skinny Buddha again and challah donated by the family owned Zaro Bakery to local Holocaust survivors all over the Westchester area and Rockland.
Her online platform has spread light and love to all of those tuning in, no matter the capacity. Whether you are shaking out all the tension from the week during her class, choosing to donate or are a recipient of her kindness, the love is felt.
This Sunday, May 10th at 10AM LIVE, we will feature BENEBOON, a website that offers select, unique, and high-end gift sets.Together with BENEBOON we will be creating luxurious spa gift bags for over 250 health care workers at Northern Westchester Hospital. The gifts are inspired by the horrific images of nurses taking off their masks and protective equipment after 10 to 12 hour shifts to reveal chafing, bruising, and extreme dryness. The gifts which will include spa face sheets, hand masks, foot masks, and 250 lip balms donated by Eileen Cohen of Eileen’s gifts in Chappaqua, NY.
Eileen Cohen also contacted The Tri-State mask makers and they are donating hand sewn masks with each meal delivered to the Holocaust Survivors.
These gift bags are meant to take care of the people who are taking such incredible care of us. Each gift bag will only be $10 to buy by donation via Venmo @BENEBOON. No limit on how many to purchase for our front liners.
These times have been incredibly difficult for everyone. But something that I will take with me for the rest of my life is that the best way to curb anxiety, depression or any bad feelings is to give back to others. During a crisis, the people who cope best are those who help others.
You can tune into Lori’s next class, and watch me struggle beside her, this Sunday LIVE at 10AM on Facebook at Heroes Raising The Barre or on Instagram @LoriLaub.
The author Melanie, Lori Laub’s daughter, is currently working remotely from home from Mass General Hospital. Melanie graduated from GWU in 2018 with a BS in Exercise Science.
