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by Ren\u00e9e Tillotson<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the ways you can recognize the authenticity of Neela\u2019s commitment to community service is her reluctance to say much about it. It\u2019s not something our Operations Manager does for show or for recognition. Maybe she shares the \u201cjustice gene\u201d Jessica Munoz talks about. Neela \u2013 with all the volunteers she has organized \u2013 has directly served hundreds of people, spanning several continents over decades.<\/p>\n Neela currently volunteers one afternoon a week at the Women\u2019s Shelter on Ka\u2019a\u2019ahi Street in Honolulu, part of the Institute of Human Services (IHS). She is one of the few women working there who has not been through the shelter herself. Curious, her co-workers wonder what on earth she\u2019s doing there. She tells them that she just doesn\u2019t feel like part of the community unless she\u2019s giving back to it. \u201cThe ladies I work with are heroes \u2013 endlessly patient and generous,\u201d demures Neela.<\/p>\n Women sometimes arrive at the shelter with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. After giving them an orientation to the program, Neela takes them to the shelter\u2019s \u201cstore\u201d where they \u201cshop\u201d free of charge for clothing, toiletries, accessories, etc. from the collection of donated items.<\/p>\n When Neela\u2019s partner Colin learned that women were picking up second-hand underwear, he bought packages of brand new women\u2019s underwear and sent them into the shelter. We give all of Still & Moving Center\u2019s unclaimed lost & found items to Neela to take to the shelter. (Careful if you leave your stuff behind after class!)<\/p>\n Neela was the Artistic Director for Cirque du Soleil for many years before coming to Still & Moving Center. Volunteering through their community service arm, Cirque du Monde, was the favorite part of her position. No matter where they were in the world, Neela would find ways to reach out to the needy parts of the local population.<\/p>\n She remembers a time when she took Cirque\u2019s \u201cSaltimbanco\u201d show to Manilla in the Philippines, and a nearby village was virtually flattened by floodwaters. The residents lost nearly everything they owned. Neela and the circus folks basically emptied their suitcases and wallets to donate to this village in need. Then she and her troupe of clowns, trainers, and acrobats delighted the village children with a joy-filled afternoon, painting their faces circus-style!<\/p>\n Another time in Estonia, Neela\u2019s team invited 100 orphans to the circus tent for Christmas dinner and individual gifts from her team members, then the kids got to watch the show! The activity helped not only the orphans, but the circus team itself. One acrobat from Russia asked Neela, \u201cBut surely they are not ALL orphans, are they? They MUST have parents somewhere, don\u2019t they?\u201d That Christmas of magic was an eye-opening and heart-warming event for participants on both sides.<\/p>\n \u201cSocial circus\u201d through Cirque du Monde serves to train at risk youth in circus skills that increase their sense of accomplishment and self-worth. Once you\u2019ve successfully dangled upside down or survived being tossed through the air, ordinary life on the streets just seems a little less scary and a little more manageable.<\/p>\n During her years with the company, Neela organized dozens of events from South Africa to Cambodia in which Cirque du Soleil performers and trainers taught young people elements of their art. Community service runs deep in her veins.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” admin_label=”Header” _builder_version=”4.6.1″ background_color=”#f9f6f5″ background_image=”https:\/\/stillandmovingcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/trans-shiva.png” background_size=”contain” background_position=”top_right” custom_margin=”-43px||||false|false” custom_padding=”100px||0px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”60px||||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” locked=”off” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.7.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.7.0″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][et_pb_image 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It\u2019s not something our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[125,143],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-letter-from-the-director","category-magnificence-in-our-ohana"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGet the Still & Moving App<\/h2>\n