Mindful Minutes

08/28/2026

🧘 DAY 3 OF 7: Back-to-School Morning Mindfulness 🧘

Sometimes our bodies need to move before our minds are ready to focus.

Take a few minutes this morning for Mindful Movement.

🙆 Reach your arms toward the sky.
🌿 Slowly stretch from side to side.
🧘 Roll your shoulders forward and backward.
🌳 Stand tall and take one slow breath.

As you move, pay attention to how your body feels.

Mindful movement is a simple way to release some morning energy and prepare the body and brain for the day ahead.

🎥 Looking for more movement and mindfulness practices? Visit our partner Challenge to Change, Inc. on YouTube:

👉 https://www.youtube.com/

08/27/2026

We are so grateful for this partnership!

🙌CONGRATS🙌 to our 10 Community Impact Grant recipients! We're honored to grant a total of nearly $106,000 to these that are tackling some of Eastern Iowa's most pressing challenges:

Centrally Rooted
DeWitt Referral Center & Thrift Store
Dubuque Community YMCA/YWCA Victim Service Shelter (Dubuque Y Crisis Services)
ElevateHER Network, Inc.
Friends of St. Mary’s (Steeple Square)
Mindful Minutes
Moms Connect Dubuque
My GEAR Outreach
Opening Doors Dubuque
River Bend Bend Food Reservoir (River Bend Food Bank)

This year’s grants are estimated to impact nearly 24,000 lives across the Dubuque region, based on figures provided by grantees. That's 10% of our region's population 😮

Community Impact Grants are open to nonprofits serving Dubuque, Clayton and Clinton counties. After narrowing down the pool of applicants, finalists were invited to make video pitches to the grant committee. The Foundation offered free one-on-one coaching to finalists to help them strengthen their videos and build skills to support all of their grant-seeking efforts.

To learn more about the Community Impact Grants program, visit dbqfoundation.org/communityimpact.

08/26/2026

💚 DAY 2 OF 7: Back-to-School Morning Mindfulness 💚

Start your morning by noticing something good.

Take a quiet moment and think of:

🌿 One person you are thankful for
🌿 One thing that makes you smile
🌿 One thing you are looking forward to today

You can say your answers out loud, write them down, or simply think about them.

Gratitude gives us a chance to pause and notice the good things that can sometimes get lost in a busy morning.

Try it together at breakfast, on the way to school, or during your classroom morning routine.

🎥 Find more mindfulness practices for home and school from our partner Challenge to Change, Inc.:

👉 https://www.youtube.com/

08/25/2026

🌿 DAY 1 OF 7: Back-to-School Morning Mindfulness 🌿

Start the week with one of the simplest mindfulness tools: your breath. 💚

Before the morning gets busy, pause for 3 Mindful Breaths.

🌬️ Breathe in slowly through your nose.
🌬️ Breathe out gently through your mouth.
🌬️ Repeat 3 times.

Then notice: How does your body feel now?

Try this at the breakfast table, in the car before school, during morning meeting, or right at a student’s desk.

Small mindful moments can help create a calmer, more focused start to the day.

🎥 Want more mindfulness practices for home or school? Visit our partner Challenge to Change, Inc. on YouTube:

👉 https://www.youtube.com/

08/24/2026

🌿 Want to Make a Difference with Mindful Minutes?

We’re looking for passionate volunteers who want to help bring mindfulness, emotional wellness, yoga, and supportive resources into schools and communities.

Volunteer opportunities may include:
💚 Teaching yoga or mindfulness programs
💚 Supporting community programs
💚 Helping write or develop curriculum
💚 Assisting with events and outreach
💚 Sharing your skills in ways that support our mission

Whether you’re an educator, yoga teacher, wellness professional, creative, or simply someone who believes in what we’re doing, we’d love to hear from you.

✨ Apply to volunteer with Mindful Minutes:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScm8IevZY5cVvzsBl5BcX61NaPP0oQH_pBw6dFfzH9oTDCqug/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=102648168011968981328

Help us create more moments of calm, connection, and emotional well-being in our communities. 💚

08/23/2026

🎒 **FREE Back-to-School Mindfulness Resource!** 🧘‍♀️✨

Start the school year with simple mindfulness tools students can use both **in the classroom and at home**.

Through our partnership with **Challenge to Change, Inc.**, Mindful Minutes is sharing access to their **Mindfulness Albums**—guided meditations created to support:

💙 Calm and emotional regulation
💚 Focus and attention
🌿 Mindful breaks and classroom resets
✨ Social-emotional learning and well-being

These short guided practices are an easy way for educators, families, and caregivers to bring more mindful moments into a child’s day.

🎧 **Explore the FREE Mindfulness Albums:**
https://www.challengetochangeinc.com/guided-mindfulness-meditations

**Resource provided by Challenge to Change, Inc. and shared by Mindful Minutes.**

Save this resource for the school year and share it with an educator or family who could use it!

08/22/2026

🌱 Emerging Wellness Entrepreneur Scholarships are now available!

Thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Dupaco Foundation, Mindful Minutes, in partnership with Challenge to Change, Inc., is offering full and partial scholarship opportunities for individuals interested in becoming, launching, or growing as a

Challenge to Change Licensed Affiliate.
Scholarship assistance may help support:
✨ Professional training
✨ Licensed Affiliate registration
✨ Curriculum + program materials
✨ Mentorship
✨ Business-development support
✨ Marketing + launch guidance

We are especially interested in helping individuals who are ready to put their training into action and create lasting wellness programming within their communities.

📍Applicants must live in and plan to serve an eligible geographic area in Iowa, Illinois, or Wisconsin.

👉 Learn more and apply: https://www.mindfulmins.com/entrepreneur-scholarship

Thank you, Dupaco Foundation, for helping create opportunities for emerging wellness leaders!

08/21/2026

🌱 **Exciting News! A New Scholarship Opportunity Is Here!**

We’re excited to share that **Mindful Minutes has received a $10,000 grant from the Dupaco Foundation** to support the **Emerging Wellness Entrepreneur Scholarship Initiative**, in partnership with Challenge to Change, Inc.!

Through this initiative, aspiring and existing wellness entrepreneurs may be able to receive scholarship support for opportunities such as:

✨ Professional yoga and mindfulness training
✨ Challenge to Change Licensed Affiliate registration
✨ Curriculum + program materials
✨ Mentorship and business-development support
✨ Marketing + community outreach
✨ Support launching or expanding wellness programming

At Challenge to Change, we’re excited to partner with Mindful Minutes to provide the training, curriculum, resources, and support that can help scholarship recipients turn their passion for wellness into meaningful community impact.

💙 Interested in becoming a Challenge to Change Licensed Affiliate or learning whether one of the scholarship pathways could be right for you?

👉 Learn more about eligibility, scholarship pathways, and how to apply on the Mindful Minutes website:

**https://www.mindfulmins.com/entrepreneur-scholarship**

A huge thank you to the **Dupaco Foundation** for investing in emerging wellness entrepreneurs and helping bring wellness programming to more communities!

08/21/2026

We are excited to share that Mindful Minutes has received a $10,000 grant from the Dupaco Community Credit Union-Dupaco Foundation to support our Emerging Wellness Entrepreneur Scholarship Initiative! 🎉

Through this initiative, Mindful Minutes will partner with Challenge to Change, Inc. to provide scholarship opportunities for aspiring and existing wellness entrepreneurs who want to bring yoga, mindfulness, mindful education, and wellness programming into their communities.

Scholarship support may help reduce financial barriers related to professional training, Licensed Affiliate registration, program materials, mentorship, and business-development support.

We are incredibly grateful to the Dupaco Foundation for investing in emerging entrepreneurs and helping expand access to wellness programming throughout eligible communities in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
More scholarship information coming soon!

08/20/2026

🎒✨ **FREE Back-to-School Printable!**

The first week of school can bring so many different feelings—excitement, happiness, nervousness, uncertainty, and everything in between.

Help your students slow down, check in with themselves, and start the school year with a little more calm and confidence with our **FREE My Mindful First Week of School Worksheet**.

This printable activity helps students:
🌿 Identify and express their feelings
🌿 Practice slow, calming breaths
🌿 Build mindful awareness
🌿 Explore kindness toward themselves and others
🌿 Reflect, connect, and share with classmates

It’s a simple activity to use during **morning meeting, SEL time, mindfulness lessons, classroom community building, or anytime during the first week of school**.

📚 **Download your FREE printable here:**
https://www.mindfulmins.com/product-page/my-mindful-first-week-of-school-worksheet

Start the school year with a mindful moment. 💙