Burlington's Yoga for Wishes Raises $72,500 for Make-A-Wish

A backyard yoga session has grown into one of Burlington's feel-good fundraisers. Last weekend, more than 200 people rolled out mats at LaSalle Park for Yoga for Wishes and raised $72,500 for Make-A-Wish Canada, more than seven times the original $10,000 goal.

Organizers Lisa Pisano and Pina Starnino started the event three years ago and kept moving the target up as donations arrived, from $10,000 to $15,000 to $20,000 before the class had even begun. In the end, 214 donations came in, most from attendees wearing Make-A-Wish blue.

The morning also heard from Domenico Meleca, Pisano's nephew and a local cancer survivor. Diagnosed with bone cancer at 16, he had his leg amputated and finished treatment in 2024, and his own wish sent him and his family to Cancun. "Wishes are far more than a special experience, wishes are medicine," Starnino said.