The Core Compassion Project

Healing Mental and Physical Trauma for Breast Cancer Patients and Survivors

The physical toll that radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery can have on a person is intense. Even when the cancer is gone, people are often left to deal with a vast array of side effects from treatment, extreme fatigue being one of the most common.

Exercise is one of the best ways to combat chronic fatigue, and the endorphins released will jump-start your mind and body to help you feel like the old you again.

As far as post-rehab forms of exercise go, Pilates can’t be beat, as it is based on flexibility, promotes a deeper and more purposeful connection with your body, and increases awareness of correct alignment.

Joseph Pilates believed that everyone should do Pilates every day and that movement is the best way to heal the body. The Core Compassion Pilates scholarship program enables the people who need it most to have access to Pilates and regain their lives through this powerful healing tool.

The heavy emotional toll that fighting breast cancer brings can make just getting through a normal daily routine seem impossible. Intense and crippling feelings of sadness, fear, and loss are very common, and the close-knit community at Reforming Foundations will help you regain your self-confidence and heal these wounds in your heart.

The teachers at Reforming Foundations are carefully selected individuals who understand that the mental hurdles are equally as important to overcome as the physical ones and approach each client with compassion and empathy. As such, they have become invaluable assets to those who have already participated in the program.

Grow Your Confidence and Reach Your Goals

We are here to help you grow your confidence and reach your goals, whether they be learning how to walk after a bilateral amputation or lift your child after a double mastectomy. At Reforming Foundations it has been our mission since Day 1 to develop an inclusive Pilates program that every body can do, and the goals of Core Compassion Project could not be more perfectly aligned with ours. Core Compassion Project Scholarships are available at our Berkley, Michigan, and Rochester, Michigan locations.

We welcome applications from:

• People that are still in recovery and undergoing treatment.
• People who are struggling financially, physically, mentally or emotionally from the side effects of breast cancer treatment.
• People who would like to regain the strength they had before their diagnosis and subsequent treatment

How to apply:

Download, print out, and mail the completed form below to apply for a Pilates scholarship.
Core Compassion Scholarship Application

Application Form

*Due to privacy concerns and compliance with HIPPA regulations, all applications must be mailed via postal mail.

Please mail the completed application to:
Core Compassion Project Attn: Scholarship Coordinator
4705 Indian Trail Fairview Road
Indian Trail, NC 28079

Additional Resources
We want to cover everything you need to get back on the road to recovery, so in addition to fitness training, we also provide fitness bras and lymphedema sleeves.

Fitness Bras
AnaOlo is the leading provider of specialty post-surgical bras for breast cancer survivors, and you can apply to receive one here.

Lymphedema Sleeves
Core Compassion Project is extremely grateful for its partnership with Lymphediva, LLC, and if at any point in your recovery you desire a sleeve to help manage lymphedema, you can learn more about the program and apply to receive one here.​

Impact of the Core Compassion Project:

“As a two-time breast cancer survivor, I felt broken mentally and physically. Being part of Core Compassion Project family gave me a new hope and a sense of well-being. My instructor was compassionate and helpful in my journey. I regained range of motion and overall body strength, as well as self-confidence. I found a new love of exercise and now participate in weekly group classes. It’s a journey that I’m grateful for CCP!” – Diane

“Core Compassion Project helped me to regain better balance, more confidence and learned to embrace the skills and person that I am. I am a bilateral below knee amputee with amputations of finger tips both hands and these ladies worked well with me no matter the circumstances. I gained a connection to women who not only say they care; they show they care. All of these ladies are special to me and they are near and dear to my heart. I am forever grateful to God for meeting them and having the opportunity to share with others our work. Thank you for everything!” – Tonja

“Core Compassion Project made me whole again. After my prophylactic double mastectomy, I eagerly filled out the application for the Core Compassion Project. I knew I needed help physically, but I didn’t know how much healing I needed mentally. My instructor, Laura, assessed my needs on our first day together. As she gently took the measurements for my range of motion, I felt the tightness and the all too familiar pulling feeling in my chest. She gently reminded me several times throughout the first session that this would be a journey. It would take the full ten weeks, or longer, to loosen up and get my range of motion back. By the third session, I was reminded to leave the stresses of life at the door. The hour that I spent with Core Compassion Project was for me, no one else. I deserved this time to focus on healing both physically and mentally. It took until my fifth session, the midway point of the program, for me to accept greater challenge. Once I broke through my mental barrier, I could do so much more than I could have imagined physically. It took me that long to believe in myself. With time, Core Compassion Project helped me heal and gain my full range of motion back, but it did so much more than that. My time with CCP gave me a renewed sense of confidence after my surgery. Every survivor, previvor and anything in between affected by cancer, should have the opportunity to heal. In a perfect world, CCP would be global and no one would ever be turned away.” – Rachel​