Health and Fitness
Pages: 1 [2] 3 4
Women's eNews Philadelphia Leadership Awards 2009
Darwin--and has a leading research library. Members of the society meet in Philadelphia twice a year to hear papers on a variety of fields. Her mother"s inspiration launched McPherson into a career of championing the role of women in the academy. With a degree from Smith College, a master"s degree in philosophy from the University of Delaware and a doctorate from Bryn Mawr under her belt, McPherson started her career as a Bryn Mawr professor. In 1978, she was named president of the college. She served there for nearly 36 years and is widely credited for revitalizing the school"s reputation and for recruiting a diverse pool of students. "Since Bryn Mawr was such a small institution, I created and established personal relationships with the women to inspire them to follow and achieve their goals," recalls McPherson. McPherson also served as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation"s vice president and as program officer for the liberal arts colleges. She was also the chair of the board of trustees at her alma mater, Smith College in Massachusetts, and has been involved in 10 other educational institutions. McPherson supports women in academia because she believes it sets the trend for women in the working world. "Women have done better professionally in the academy than in other places, even though it"s been slow to come here too. But you see that what"s happened in the academy kind of trickles down to other professions--there are more female deans of law schools and now half of the entering classes are women." [----------] Dr. Ana M. Negron, Preparer of Healthy Lives Dr. Ana M. Negron abandoned her traditional medical ways to increase the wellness of her community. "I had been practicing medicine for 20 years, prescribing pills to treat signs and symptoms, and becoming increasingly frustrated because I was not making patients any healthier," she recalls. Negron holds degrees from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine and the Family Medicine Residency Program at Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia. "Meanwhile, in my life, I had been practicing wellness with regard to my cooking and eating. It was then I decided to bring my life and my profession together in harmony." When workers at Negron"s health clinic encouraged her to share nutritional information with not just her patients, but with everyone, she decided to found the Greens on a Budget project. The Greens on a Budget workshops bring people together to create a "rainbow salad" with Napa cabbage, cilantro, abundant vegetables, rice and beans, fruit and nuts. She says that after people get over their "colorful-everything-salad shock" they realize: "I"ve been killing my family with what I feed them!" She has been thrilled to be introducing health into others" lives. With some exceptions, most of the class attendees are women. They often come with their children, taking what they learn back to their families and communities. "Women make the decisions about what to buy based on family expectations," she says. "During the workshops they realize that instead of fried, meaty, breaded and smothered in cheese meals, they could offer nutritious, delicious, easy and inexpensive dishes that would be well received by the family." Today, Greens on a Budget offers five or six core workshops around basic recipes, including salads, rice and beans with kale, baked cauliflower, squash soup and frozen fruit. During each workshop Negron, who has her own wellness practice in Bryn Mawr, emphasizes "food literacy," budgeting for foods that are healthy. She also encourages people to prepare food in advance, involve their whole family in the preparation and improvise on recipes using foods from their lives and backgrounds. This way, she says, these foods and recipes become their own. "When we break away from the mainstream," she says, "food becomes a primary way to support wellness and bolster our core. Today it is a joy, after 30-some years of practice, to finally be immersed in health care!" [----------] Pat Reeser, Designer of Women"s Safety Pat Reeser has developed a reputation as a woman who gets things done. As owner of HER Catering company, a long-time seller of Carlisle Designer fashions for women and through her involvement in various charitable organizations, she knows how to get projects moving. When the founders of Home of the Sparrow, a transitional shelter for homeless women and children in Chester County, wanted to get their project off the ground, they were told to contact Reeser. "They came to me one morning and we met on my back deck. I listened to them and it all sounded very good. I told them I was interested and I would consider it and whatnot, and then a sparrow flew into a birdhouse as we were meeting. That was the signed, sealed and deliver sign for me," she says. When the project began, the shelter was the only one in the entire county that allowed women to keep their children with them. Reeser absorbed herself in the project, using her family and network of connections--she"s an avid churchgoer and active in the community--to raise money. She threw parties at her home, using her fashion and other business contacts to give them flair, and even organized a tennis tournament with local notables. "I love the organization," she says. "All kinds of wonderful things just fell in place." Since then, Home of the Sparrow has welcomed hundreds of women through its doors, not just offering shelter, but also life skills lessons, counseling and help finding employment. And they do it all with the women"s children there. Reeser is also a major supporter of Voyage House, a safe place for homeless, abused, and "throwaway" adolescents, who often are young women. At the age of 80, she says she never forgets that she could be in another woman"s shoes. "I have a roof over my head and I don"t have to worry where the next mouthful of food will come from," she says. "It really pulls at your heartstrings to see women in a situation where they don"t have a roof over their head and they have little children. I feel good that I was able to help in a little way." [----------] Raymond Shanahan, Lender of Multiple Hands Raymond Shanahan is the ultimate good neighbor. As head of Orion Community Inc., he and his staff and volunteers have helped over 300 women and girls in just the last year--but not in the traditional manner of most social service agencies. Orion"s mission is to not just help families with a particular or immediate need, but to address diverse aspects of a single problem until the famliy gets back on its feet--sometimes months or years down the line. The organization, serving the greater Phoenixville area, uses resources and advocacy to help those who are looking for or want to keep a home, find employment, collaborate with schools and social services and access clothing and food. Shanahan is adamant that, unlike specialized government services, he and others from Orion do not pigeonhole those who seek their help. This is particularly true for single mothers, for whom he says there are few compassionate resources and much stigma. "One of the founding principles is that we deal with the entire individual. The other thing we avoid is the idea of labels. People aren"t "clients" but any neighbor who could be in need at any time" Shanahan says. "We don"t call them impoverished or ill, rather they"re John, Mary or Susy. We create a respectful relationship with the understanding that we could be them at any time." Shanahan formed his approach after decades of working as a social worker and crisis counselor for the U.S. Air Force and other government agencies. With that wealth of experience, he decided to specialize in helping those who have slipped through the cracks or who have been labeled as hopeless cases. Orion, founded in 1978, receives no government funding and its three staffers and volunteers try to do things entirely their own way in partnership with community groups. This approach includes helping the same people multiple times if need be. The Orion staff has done everything from finding temporary housing for an immigrant family whose mother suffered a stroke to driving people to job interviews to helping families pay the rent. "At Orion we never say our case is closed on anybody. No matter how many times people fall down, if you"re motivated to get back up, we will assist you," he says. "It"s a matter of being responsive and understanding. We respect everybody and respect their fight." [----------] Dorothy Johnson-Speight, Transformer of Grief An awful tragedy, the ultimate loss, shattered the life of Dorothy Johnson-Speight in December 1986. Her 3-year-old daughter died of bacterial meningitis. She struggled with enormous grief, but as she began to heal tragedy hit again. In 2001, almost 15 years to the day, her 24-year-old son was killed in a dispute over his parking space. Having been comforted by a group after her first loss, Johnson-Speight knew she had to start her own group to channel her grief and make a difference. Johnson-Speight joined forces with two other grieving mothers and founded the organization Mothers In Charge, Inc., which seeks to prevent violence through direct work with youth and communities. The group consists of courageous mothers, grandmothers, aunts and sisters who are working to support and create positive change. It"s clear to Johnson-Speight why this is a women-led initiative. "If you look at the whole aspect of the grief and loss process, women are nurturers," she says. "We provide that to each other and the unfortunate common bond of the loss acts as a way to nurture, help support and empower these mothers who have gone through these horrible tragedies." The work of Mothers in Charge ranges from helping individuals to political lobbying. They do presentations and workshops with kids, parents, schools, faith-based organizations and even the FBI. They tackle both violence prevention inPages: 1 [2] 3 4
Corporate Events commented:
Women are participating in each and every activities efficiently, This award must be given to a deserved woman candidate. Thanks for this valuable information.
11.04.2012