New Community Activism Forum

Submitted by lanny on November 20, 2011 - 10:16am
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hi all,

you may notice we have a new forum thread: community activism. please share thoughts, ideas, experiences you have about how to get the word out on prolapse and whole woman to keep more women out of the operating room. let us know what we can do to help. many thanks!

lanny (christine's DH)

wholewomanUK

November 20, 2011 - 12:46pm

Hi Lanny,
Just to say what a great idea. There are so many WW, partners and affiliates now around the world, that between us we can really make a difference.

One really positive starting point is for us all to be brave and talk to people about prolapse. Like Voldermort in Harry Potter, (whose name cannot be mentioned) if prolapse is not spoken about unless it's in hushed voices, it can become something fearful, powerful and dangerous, women are more likely to feel isolated, fearful, ignorant, underconfident and can literally become more vulnerable. However if we talk about POP, initially with people we feel comfortable with and gradually with others if possible, then over time the fear, embarrasment and stigma of POP, will be reduced or eliminated. It's a good place to start.

After that - well there are all sorts of ways:
conversations, talks, discussions, letters, papers, conferences, letters, classes, centres, articles, newsletters...

If we each do something - there are a lot of us about now - it all adds up!
wholewomanuk

louiseds

November 20, 2011 - 8:04pm

Hi WholewomanUK

I just found the "What you need to know abut prolapse" brochure, and another one I couldn't open, on the table at the Whole Woman Center in the Village. There is also a bookmark I designed a few years ago, somewhere in the Village. Hopefully Lanny can track it down and fix the other link.

These are great resources to carry with you to give to women.

Louise

lanny

November 20, 2011 - 10:13pm

hi louise,

bug is fixed so both brochures are available. we'll have the bookmark up shortly. thanks.

lanny

lanny

November 20, 2011 - 10:31pm

hi wholewomanuk,

we are entering a new phase in whole woman with a focus on community outreach, locally here for us and for our fledgling whole woman teachers. in the process of this transformation of how we think about whole woman and where we refocus our energies, it became clear that the five thousand plus registered members of the whole woman forum are a huge resource that can be mobilized to help get out the word.

of course, each woman will make her own choices about what and how to get involved, and it will take some experimentation and cross pollination for a punch list of effective options to come together. but we will all learn from each other. the new thread i announced here represents our commitment to supporting the women whose lives we have touched when and if they chose to make the effort to reach out in their communities.

this is new for us. thus far, our attention has been expanding and deepening the body of knowledge and building a cost effective distribution network via the web. our new assistant amy is on fire for whole woman and has the "get out there, talk to people and make it happen" gene. she has also brought us an amazing new intern, marisa (a hard core community activist) who will be helping on the customer service line and helping generate referrals from the local medical community. or at least that part of the medical community which doesn't have an economic interest in operating on women.

so this is another chapter in the whole woman adventure and we're eager to hear your ideas and how we can help. as you say, it all adds up. if only one hundred women out of the five thousand bring ten women a year to whole woman, that's a thousand women who will have avoided dangerous surgery. there is strength in numbers, ladies. let's roll up our sleeves and figure this out.

blessings on you all,
lanny (the wwdh)

dandelion

November 20, 2011 - 10:50pm

I have already put some comments on facebook. Great way to get the word around the world

CurlyWhirlyAmy

November 21, 2011 - 11:47am

Hello Everyone,

This is Amy, Whole Woman's new go-getter and activism junkie. I've posted in the actual Community Activism Forum. I would really appreciate it if we could move the conversation over to that page so I can track you all better, and know who to talk to. I am so excited to meet everyone!

-Amy

louiseds

November 21, 2011 - 2:41pm

Ah, OK! I am a bit slow. You mean a new Forum, Lanny, not a new topic. Yeah, I am off to the new Community Activism Forum. See you all there.

Louise

jerseygal

November 21, 2011 - 5:52pm

To: Lanny and Amy
I can't agree with you more as to the importance of getting the word out. I am sure there are so many women with POP prolems that just don't speak about it until someone else brings it up. My heart goes out to all the younger women who post on this WW website. However, I am sure there are many senior women with this problem who don't even know that Whole Woman exists. I am a senior (72) and fortunately for me, my problem only happend six months ago. I cannot thank Christine and all of you at WW who came to my aid. I have been doing the tapes (First Aid - since July) almost every day. I have been doing the (Yoga- 2nd wheel) every day since it came out. I have read the book from cover to cover, and I refer to it almost everyday. It has become my bible. I can't wait for the next Yoga DVD. I haven't reversed my condition (and probably never will because of my age), but I have moved things forward, and my cystocele-stage 2, has improved tremendously. Not only has it improved my POP, but the exercise, information and posture has changed my life and my overall health. I thank God everyday for Christine. I really think there should be some type of brochure about WW that we can give out at places like Senior Citizens Groups. Older women don't often talk about it, but I am sure they would certainly read about it. Is there some type of brochure that we could print from the forum? As you can tell from my name, I live in the New York/New Jersey area. We have lots and lots of women here. Thanks again. JERSEYGAL

louiseds

November 22, 2011 - 6:19am

There are two different brochures on the table at the Whole Woman Center in the Village, Jerseygal, but Lanny tells me it is being revised. Perhaps you could email Lanny and ask him about it?

There is also an A4 sheet of bookmarks that you can cut into strips. I like printing them out in black and white on pink paper and keeping a few in a side pocket of my bag. They just have the logo, the URL and a couple of sentences about Wholewoman They could probably do with revision too. They are not strictly kosher printed in black and white on a pink background but they are all we have for now. The bookmark will eventually be on the site for download. If you want me to email you the file in the meantime, I am happy to do that, as long as it is OK with Lanny.

Lanny?

Louise

Surviving60

November 22, 2011 - 7:16am

Love the bookmarks idea. If I had my hands on these, they would be popping up in the darnedest places. Louise, please send if you can. Do you have access to my e-mail address via this site? Or shall I wait?

CurlyWhirlyAmy

November 22, 2011 - 3:58pm

Jerseygal,

That would be a great flyer to have. The revised flyer that is coming out has the medical information on it, but I'm sure that I can whip something up that is geared toward our Seniors. Our intern actually volunteers at a Senior Care Center, so this was an idea we had thrown around. Thanks for cementing the idea!

-Amy

louiseds

November 23, 2011 - 1:12am

Hi Surviving60, and anyone else who is interested. Email me via the Forums. Then I will have your email address, and can email you back with the attachment.

Louise

granolamom

November 23, 2011 - 11:30am

welcome aboard! looking forward to getting to 'know' you.
while I'm not the 'activist' type, I'm loving some of these ideas. louise...would you email me the bookmark when you get a chance?
thanks...I think its a great way to easily spread the word.

jerseygal

November 23, 2011 - 2:47pm

Amy,
Thanks for your response. When I spoke about "Seniors", I didn't mean elderly people who are in care centers. Senior Citizen Organizations in most towns and states have members starting at the age of 55. Many of these centers have various exercise classes i.e., Zumba and Yoga. Some of these classes may, in fact, be detrimental to any of the women who may have a POP. The Senior Center in my town (which I have just joined), has many women in their 50s and 60s, as well as some in their 70s. A brochure about WW might be very helpful to some of them. Let us know when the new brochure is complete, so I can print off some and leave them at the center. My initial thought was for all Senior Citizens Organizations to have these brochures on hand. I am sure there are many women suffering with POP that just do not speak about it (other than with their doctors), and we know what kind of advice they will get from them.