Our health committee meetings are held on the 3rd Mondays of the month unless there is a conflict or a holiday. Our next meeting with be June 23, 2025 at 8pm ET. We are going to start thinking about a special Health Fair/Panel for this year. Please stay tuned for more information.

If you are a former member of the health committee or would like to find an area where you could be involved, please contact me at health@nfbpwc.org and I will put you on my list. The more you can contribute, the easier it makes it for me. I’d love to have you.

Notes from the Chair:

Thank you to those committee members who have been participating in our meetings. We will be changing our meeting week due to a conflict in schedule, which can sometimes happen. Thank you for your understanding and please check the events calendar for more information.

Healthy Thinking for the Month:

See the chart: 75 Things to Throw Away for Quick Decluttering.

Health Awareness Dates:

June is –

Cancer From the Sun Month; Cataract Awareness Month; Child Vision Awareness Month; Children's Awareness Month; Dairy Alternatives Month; Dementia Care Professionals Month; International Childhood Cancer Awareness Month; Men’s Health Education and Awareness Month; Migraine & Headache Awareness Month; National Aphasia Awareness Month; National Bathroom Reading Month; National Fruit and Veggies Month (Also September); National Safety Month; Pharmacists Declare War on Alcoholism Month; Professional Wellness Month; Rebuild Your Life Month; Sports America Kids Month; Student Safety Month; World Infertility Month

Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month - https://www.alz.org/abam/

Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome Awareness Month (APS) - https://apsfa.org/

Beautiful in Your Skin Month -

https://www.dermascope.com/june-is-beautiful-in- your-skin-month/#.WSScdIWcHyQ

Hydranencephaly Awareness Month - https://pediatricbrainfoundation.org/archive/hydrane ncephaly-awareness-month/

National Congenital Cytomegalovirus Awareness Month - https://www.nationalcmv.org/

National Migraine and Headache Awareness Month - https://www.migraineheadacheawarenessmonth.org/mham-calendar/

National Scoliosis Awareness Month - https://www.scoliosis.org/scoliosis-awareness- month/

Oral Health Month (It's in April for Canada) - https://dentistry.uic.edu/news-stories/june-is-oral- health-month-prioritize-your-oral-health-today/

Potty Training Awareness Month - https://www.pull- ups.com/en-us/

PTSD Awareness Month - https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/awareness/inde x.asp

Scleroderma Awareness Month - https://scleroderma.org/

Vision Research Month - https://everharteyes.com/june.html

Article courtesy of Health Committee Member Marsha Riibner-Cady, North Carolina

June is national CPR and AED awareness month. Now is the perfect time to act and become trained to save a life.

What is CPR?

CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It can help save a life during cardiac arrest, when the heart stops beating or beating too ineffectively to circulate blood to the brain and other vital organs.

What is an AED?

An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is a portable medical device used to analyze a person's heart rhythm and deliver an electrical shock to restore a normal heart rhythm, particularly in cases of sudden cardiac arrest. It's designed for use by laypeople and is often found in public places. While CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is used to keep blood circulating, an AED is specifically designed to restart the heart.

Where can you find someone to train you in CPR and AED?

I’m happy to teach you CPR if you live in VA, WV, PA, NJ or KY! Contact me at info@cadycprsolutions.com

Or here is information on someone who might be closer to you!

The top 3 agencies that train folks in CPR and AED certification are:

• the American Red Cross (ARC) https://www.redcross.org/
• the American Heart association (AHA) https://www.heart.org/
• and the Health and Safety Institute (HSI) https://hsi.com/

Each agency has a place on their website where you can find trainers in your area, or you may go to their website for virtual training. Again, shameless plug alert, I do CPR and First Aid training, check out my website at https://cadycprsolutions.com

To be certified in other words, be a card-carrying person who is trained, you will need to take a classroom part and hands-on skills session. The classroom part can be done online. In certain situations, the skills session can be done virtually, but the correct equipment must be available. Once completed the training “card” is valid for 2 years.

Training specifically for lay responders that are virtual from ARC and AHA are:

The American Red Cross program, “Until Help Arrives,” will educate and empower you to act and provide life-saving care when you are the first on the scene during an emergency. https://tinyurl.com/y4h56xuu

The American Heart Association program, “Friends and Family,” is for people who want to learn CPR but do not need a CPR course completion card to meet a job requirement. This course is ideal for community groups, new parents, grandparents, babysitters, and others interested in learning how to save a life.

https://tinyurl.com/2u9nzttb

Which training is best for you?

At a minimum, please go to the ARC or AHA online lay responder program so that you have a basic idea of how things work.

If you want to be certified and have hands on training, my recommendation is to go with the blended format for any of the agencies. The online classroom training is at your home on your computer or tablet at your pace. Then attend an in-person skills session with someone who provides hands on training and feedback with manikins and AED trainers.

How much will this cost?

That depends on the level of training you require, the agency you choose, and where you live. The going price in my area of WV is $55/person. I understand that some people charge up to $150/person or more. A fun club activity would be to get a group together with a trainer who is willing to give you a group rate.

If you have more questions, please reach out to me.

Marsha Riibner-Cady Cady CPR solutions

info@cadycprsolutions.com

252-423-0819

The photo below is from an event at the Girl Scout Council of the Colonial Coast. Marsha and the manikins.

Book FYI

(Thank you to Kathy Clevenger-Burdell for this idea)

Shortlisted for the Plutarch Award for Best Biography

A riveting history about the little-known rivalry between Margaret Sanger and Mary Ware Dennett that profoundly shaped reproductive rights in America

In the 1910s, as the birth control movement was born, two leaders emerged: Margaret Sanger and Mary Ware Dennett. While Sanger would go on to found Planned Parenthood, Dennett’s name has largely faded from public knowledge. Each held a radically different vision for what reproductive autonomy and birth control access should look like in America.

Few are aware of the fierce personal and political rivalry that played out between Sanger and Dennett over decades—a battle that had a profound impact on the lives of American women. Meticulously researched and vividly drawn, The Icon and the Idealist reveals how and why these two women came to activism, the origins of the clash between them, and the ways in which their missteps and breakthroughs have reverberated across American society for generations.

With deep archival scope and rigorous execution, Stephanie Gorton weaves together a personal narrative of two fascinating women and the political history of a country rocked by changing social norms, the Depression, and a fervor for eugenics. Refusing to shy away from

the enmeshed struggles of race, class, and gender, Gorton has made a sweeping examination of every force that has come in the way of women’s reproductive freedom.

Brimming with insight and compelling portraits of women’s struggles throughout the twentieth century, The Icon and the Idealist is a comprehensive history of a radical cultural movement.

If you are a former member of the health committee or would like to find an area where you could be involved, please contact me at health@nfbpwc.org and I will put you on my list. The more you can contribute, the easier it makes it for me. I’d love to have you. We will meet on the 3rd or 4th Monday of the month unless there are any conflicts or holiday forthcoming. Next meeting is May 19, 2025.

Did you know that we have pins and scarves that can be purchased for a donation?

Suggested Donation

$20

Suggested Donation

$10.00

Suggested Donation

$25.00

The donations include shipping, but we do ask for a minimum order of 5 items.

These items can be found on our website. Just go to Who We Are and scroll down to Donate to Empower our Work then go to Donation Gifts. You can find them all there. These are a great gift for a new member or to thank a member for their hard work.

The theme for this issue is recognizing the International Day of Women in Diplomacy. How does this relate to Finance? Women help to pass laws and policies. One of the crucial ways that is effects women is equal pay.

According to a February 2025 article from the National Women’s Law Center:

Based on today’s gender wage gap for full-time, year- round workers, women stand to lose $462,000 over the course of a 40-year career. For Black women, Latinas, Indigenous women, and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander women, the losses are over $1 million over a lifetime. If we don’t act to close the wage gap, a woman just starting out today stands to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of her career, undercutting her ability to provide for herself and her family, as well as her retirement security.

This “lifetime wage gap” exists across the country: in every single state, career losses for women of all races working full time, year round compared to men of all races working full time, year round based on today’s wage gap would amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars — and in 14 states women’s career losses would amount to more than half a million dollars.

And many women of color living in certain states would lose the most. Compared to what white, non- Hispanic men working full time, year-round make, the lifetime wage gap would amount to more than $1 million for Asian women in two states, for Black women in 24 states, for Latinas in 40 states, for Indigenous women in 29 states, and for Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander women in 5 states.

If you would like to see a state by state comparison and based on race please visit their website at www.nwlc.org/resource/the-lifetime-wage-gap-state-by- state/.

Sandy Thompson
NFBPWC Finance Chair

Angie Jackson-Wilson
NFBPWC Bylaws and Resolution Chair
2024-2026

Engage with NFBPWC on Social Media

Organization Page:   https://www.facebook.com/NatlFedBPWC/

Group Page: https://www.facebook.com/NatlFedBPWC/

Organization Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nfbpwc

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2l_ciIxLyvbu1dbBOsV9Tg

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nfbpwc_usa/

Engage with NFBPWC on Social Media

Organization Page:   https://www.facebook.com/NatlFedBPWC/

Group Page: https://www.facebook.com/NatlFedBPWC/

Organization Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nfbpwc

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2l_ciIxLyvbu1dbBOsV9Tg

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nfbpwc_usa/

The High Stakes of Succession Planning: Why Leadership Continuity Matters

Succession planning isn’t just a formal process—it’s a necessity for the stability and longevity of any organization. When we neglect this vital strategy, we risk leadership gaps, loss of institutional knowledge, and disruptions that can hinder growth. The consequences of failing at succession planning can be severe, but understanding the steps to get it right ensures a seamless transition.

The Risks of Neglecting Succession Planning

• Without a clear plan for leadership continuity, organizations may experience:

• Operational disruptions – When key leaders suddenly depart, teams may struggle with direction and decision-making.
• Loss of expertise – Years of experience and knowledge can walk out the door, leaving a void that takes time to fill.
• Damaged reputation – Frequent leadership turnover may create instability, lowering confidence among employees and stakeholders.

Key Strategies for Effective Succession Planning

• To ensure leadership continuity and avoid pitfalls, organizations should adopt the following strategies:
• Start Early & Develop a Pipeline – Succession planning should be a continuous process, not a last-minute scramble. Identifying and nurturing future leaders early allows for a smoother transition.
• Define Leadership Competencies – Understanding the qualities and skills necessary for leadership roles helps guide the selection and training of successors.
• Invest in Professional Development– Provide mentorship, leadership training, and hands- on experience to prepare future leaders before they assume critical roles.

• Create a Transparent Process – Clear communication ensures employees understand career growth opportunities, fostering engagement and retention.
• Prepare for Unexpected Departures – Life is unpredictable. Having contingency plans in place ensures organizations remain stable despite sudden leadership changes.
• Leadership transitions don’t have to be chaotic. With proactive succession planning, organizations can preserve continuity, maintain their competitive edge, and build a future-ready workforce. Prioritizing these critical steps will ensure leadership isn’t just a role—it’s a legacy.

Again, I ask you to look inside your local organization and identify individuals that can assume the mantle of leadership and nominate them.

Angie Jackson-Wilson
NFBPWC Nominations Chair
2024-2026

Our health committee meetings are held on the 3rd Mondays of the month unless there is a conflict or a holiday. Our next meeting with be May 19, 2025 at 8pm ET. We are going to start thinking about a special Health Fair/Panel for this year. Please stay tuned for more information.

If you are a former member of the health committee or would like to find an area where you could be involved, please contact me at health@nfbpwc.org and I will put you on my list. The more you can contribute, the easier it makes it for me. I’d love to have you.

Notes from the Chair:

The Health Committee is doing a lot of brainstorming on our article section, a future project for the year, and more. Even with the small number of attendees at meetings (and the make-up is always different) good ideas flow. I always appreciate how productive our meetings are, and I cannot wait for what we have planned for the rest of the year.

Healthy Thinking for the Month:

"Negativity is contagious but so is positivity; desperation is contagious but so is joy: do not follow negative people but continue to radiate light and hope around you! And know that hope doesn’t disappoint, it never deludes!" (June 2014) – Pope Francis December 17, 1936 – April 21, 2025)

Health Awareness Dates:

May is –

Asthma Awareness Month; Awareness of Medical Orphans Month; Clap 4 Health Month; Clean Air Month;  Family  Wellness  Month;  Fibromyalgia Education and Awareness Month; Food Allergy Action Month; Global Employee Health and Fitness Month; Global Health and Fitness Month; Global Youth Traffic Safety Month; Heal the Children Month; Healthy Vision Month; Huntington's Disease Awareness Month; Inherited Retinal Disease (IRD) Genetic Testing Month; International Mediterranean Diet Month; Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection & Prevention Month; Mental Health Month; National Arthritis Awareness Month; National Hepatitis Awareness Month; National High Potassium Awareness Month; National Meditation Month; National Mental Health Month; National Osteoporosis Awareness & Prevention Month; National Physical Fitness & Sports Month; National Stop The Bleed Month; National Stroke Awareness Month; Necrotizing Fasciitis Awareness Month; Older Americans Month; Oncology Nurses Month Link; Prader-Willi Syndrome Awareness Month; Save Your Tooth Month; Strike Out Strokes Month; Tay-Sachs and Canavan Diseases Month; Trauma Awareness Month; Ultra-violet Awareness Month; Women's Health Care Month

ALS Awareness Month - (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's Disease) - https://www.als.org/awareness

Apraxia Awareness Month -https://www.apraxia-kids.org/awareness/

Better Hearing & Speech Month -

https://www.asha.org/national-speech-language-hearing-month/

Better Sleep Month -https://www.sleepfoundation.org/

Bladder Cancer Awareness Month -https://www.urologyhealth.org/media-center/press-releases/may-is-bladder-cancer-awareness-month

Borderline Personality Disorder Month -https://www.borderlinepersonalitydisorder.org/may-bpd-awareness-month/

Brain Tumor Awareness Month -https://braintumor.org/

Building Safety Month -

https://www.iccsafe.org/advocacy/building-safety-month/building-safety-month/

Celiac Awareness Month -https://celiac.org/schar/

Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month -https://www.cff.org/intro-cf/cf-awareness-month

EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) Awareness Month -https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/may-awareness/

Lupus Awareness Month -

https://www.lupus.org/lupus-awareness-month

Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month -https://www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/motorcycles

National Allergy/Asthma Awareness Month -https://aafa.org/get-involved/asthma-and-allergy-awareness-month/

National Better Hearing Month -

https://www.asha.org/national-speech-language-hearing-month/

National Brain Tumor Awareness Month -https://braintumor.org/events/brain-tumor-awareness-month/

National Electrical Safety Month -https://www.esfi.org/national-electrical-safety-month-2022/

National High Blood Pressure Education Month -https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6520a5.htm

(World) Lyme Disease Awareness Month -https://www.lymedisease.org/get-involved/take-action/lyme-awareness-month/

National Mediterranean Diet Month -https://tinyurl.com/mpy92c32

National Physiotherapy Month -https://opa.on.ca/recent-news/national-physiotherapy-month/

National Syringomyelia Awareness Month -https://justfacts.votesmart.org/public-statement/973471/national-syringomyelia-awareness-month#.V9iF0uRTHyQ

National Tuberous Sclerosis Month -https://www.tscalliance.org/

National Water Safety Month -http://www.nationalwatersafetymonth.org/

National Youth Traffic Safety Month -

https://teenslearntodrive.com/youth-traffic-safety-month/

Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month (aka NF Month)

-https://www.ctf.org/makenfvisible/

Pediatric Feeding Disorder Awareness Month -https://www.feedingmatters.org/pfd-awareness-month/

Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month -

https://chasa.org/you-can-help/pediatric-stroke-awareness/

Preeclampsia Awareness Month -https://www.preeclampsia.org/

Skin Cancer Awareness Month -https://www.skincancer.org/get-involved/skin-cancer-awareness-month/

Sturge-Weber Awareness Month -https://sturge-weber.org/

Tourette’s Syndrome Awareness Month (5/15 - 6/15) -https://tourette.org/awareness-month-2024/

Toxic Encephalopathy and Chemical Injury Awareness Month -

https://www.brownielocks.com/may.html

If you are a former member of the health committee or would like to find an area where you could be involved, please contact me at health@nfbpwc.org and I will put

Healthy Foods Information –

you on my list. The more you can contribute, the easier it makes it for me. I’d love to have you.

12 Foods That Can Help Lower Blood Pressure -https://tinyurl.com/ycxbwxn421 Impressive Health Benefits and Uses of Parsley -

https://www.medicinenet.com/21_impressive_health_benefits_and_uses_of_parsley/article.htm

If you would like to submit a healthy recipe to publish in future newsletters or have your own health food tip, please send them to health@nfbpwc.org

Article courtesy of Health Committee Member Carolina Vasquez, BPW, Texas Affiliate

Advice to Take Care of an Aging Parent While Guarding Your Health as Well

To my fellow BPW members:

Blessings from El Paso, Texas from a member of BPW Paso del Norte border town with Mexico.

Last year I had to say goodbye to my mother after taking care of her for the last 10 years of her life due to her Dementia.

I want to share my journey with you because I want to help anyone in my position to navigate this family

journey so that you do not fall into the depression I experienced when my mom went to heaven.

After living a wonderful life which culminated with a 20-year job with the US Department of State as a Cultural Liaison for International Visitors and

crisscrossing our Country Several times a month (I got to visit 48 states excluding Hawaii and Maine) I made the decision to resign and concentrate on being my mom’s caretaker until she passed away.

I had no idea what I was going to encounter but did it out of love and respect for my mom, a woman I adored and respected. I knew she was very difficult to please and realizing the horrible effects of Dementia, I did not want her to encounter hostility or uncomfortable circumstances that would make her last years of life unbearable I never realized the shortcomings that my decision was going to have in my life. I recommend that as a loving daughter, you explore all venues to make your parents have a peaceful end to life. However, please do not immerse yourself 100% in your role as a caretaker but make provisions so that you also have a social life along with your duties as a caretaker.

I was caught inside the covid epidemic and moved to a little town outside El Paso that permitted me to protect mom in a safe environment, a gated home where she could walk and take care of her birds and plants. This was a wonderful benefit because she could be outside or inside if I was watching her. Of course, things happened and at one point she could no longer roam unattended, so my duties became very stressful.

Dementia has a way of little by little destroying the person that your parent was and living you with a human being that slowly stops recognizing you and even ends up turning hostile to your company, One has to understand that this is normal and not take anything they say or do at heart, because they are no longer the parent you knew and loved. At this time of your journey, I suggest you find a place where you can monitor them but no longer be 100% at their side.

This will destroy you and you need to be strong to help them transition to a peaceful last journey. You cannot be at their side 24 hours a day. You need to have a life as well aways from your duty as a caretaker. I did not do this, so I ended up facing a total mental degradation feeling helpless and alone.

Don’t fall into that trap. They are at the end of their journey, but you are not, so keep on living while you take care of your sick parents. Do not feel guilty, they would want you to be happy if they still could take care of you, I can guarantee you.

During this time, try to find out all you can about your parents, learn what they liked in their lives, what their dreams were, their likes and dislikes, their triumphs and their shortcomings. All this will comfort you

Health Article FYI

Mind-wandering could actually be helpful when it comes to learning something new -https://tinyurl.com/mryr279z

7 Foods and Beverages That Have the Most Microplastics (and What to Eat Instead) -

https://www.superage.com/articles/7-foods-and-

When they leave this earth, and you will be able to remember them with love and respect.

This is a short recommendation given to you as a person that almost committed suicide feeling so helpless and alone, I isolated myself without realizing that I was hurting myself in the process.

beverages-that-have-the-most-microplastics-and-  what-to-eat-instead

Ilona Maher Is Bringing Body Positivity Back -https://verilymag.com/2025/03/ilona-maher-is-bringing-body-positivity-back-2025?mc_cid=b4e813c64e&mc_eid=f7047d46e4

If you are a former member of the health committee or would like to find an area where you could be involved, please contact me at health@nfbpwc.org and I will put you on my list. The more you can contribute, the easier it makes it for me. I’d love to have you. We will meet on the 3rd or 4th Monday of the month unless there are any conflicts or holiday forthcoming. Next meeting is May 19, 2025.

One of my duties as Finance Chair is to serve as a member of the Legacy Fund Committee. We have invested our money with Edward Jones Investments. They have been in business since 1922. Just like BPW they began in St. Louis, Missouri.

I would like to introduce to you our Financial Advisor – Debi Vasquez.

Debi was recently named to the Forbes 2025 ranking of Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-in-State in California.

To compile the 2025 list of women named to these rankings, SHOOK®

Research analysts conducted individual interviews with nominees. Criteria that determined the final list included industry experience, best practices, compliance records and assets under care.

Debi began her Edward Jones career in 1995 as a financial advisor in Sherman Oaks and became a limited partner with the firm in 2006.

With over three decades of experience as a financial advisor, she has built a successful practice through a time-tested, client-first strategy. The three cornerstones of discipline that she leverages in her practice are transparency, tenacity and tenure.

Fostering a strong conviction for customized financial strategies, investment counseling and relationship management, she is a financial advocate for her clients and aspires to empower women on the importance of financial literacy. She also has enjoyed being able to help create, build and deploy her clients' financial dreams.

Her practice focuses on helping small business owners optimize their retirement plans working in partnership with their CPAs, TPAs and estate planning attorneys.

Her team is dedicated to providing highly personalized service. All aspects of her business are aligned to help her understand better what is important to her clients’ unique goals and needs so that she can make a positive impact on their lives.

She became an Edward Jones financial advisor to make a positive difference in people's lives. These days, she is inspired by the celebrations she shares with all her clients when they have met their goals.

Sandy Thompson
NFBPWC Finance Chair