LIMERICK’S Mister Zumba, Darren Nash has built up an international following for his on-line dance party and he is now hoping that it will raise money for a local service that feeds older and vulnerable people.
Darren – who is also advertising manager with the Limerick Post – taught several Zumba classes a week before Covid-19 landed and classes became impossible under social distancing.
“But I felt people stuck at home wanted something fun to do and I started offering free on-line classes.
“I was getting a hundred or more people logging on from all over – there were people from Scotland, Spain, France – there was even a lady enquiring from California.
“I’m not charging, I just wanted to do something positive for people and Zumba is a lot of fun. Then I thought I would like to raise some money for the St Munchin’s Meals on Wheels service, which is really struggling,” said Darren.
He has great reason to be grateful to the service who was, he says “extremely good to my Nana, Margaret Kinsella. They do an amazing job, now more so than ever but they really need funds to keep doing that. They are struggling.”
The father-of-three to Amelia, Elizabeth Rose and Sadie is now offering classes at just €3 a pop or €10 for four classes with every cent going to the meals service.
He will continue raising funds until April 30, by which time, he hopes to have raised €2,500 for the service, which is aiming to bring up to 1,000 meals a day to vulnerable people.
“They do an amazing job and right now, older people need their help more than ever,” said Darren.
Having taught Zumba for ten years, he has structured his classes to be fun, with easy dance steps and smiling all the way while getting some lovely exercise without breaking outside the 2-kilometre limit.
They can be accessed through the Facebook page ‘Zumba With Darren’ and are broadcast Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 8.15pm and Saturday at 11am.
All payments go through Paypal and Darren will be posting the presentation of a cheque for all funds raised at the end of the month
The classes require zoom but the page will take anyone who wants to join through how to do that step by step.
Just like the dance routines, in fact!
