President's Wellness Corner

Renewing Our Commitment to Black Women's Health



Dear Friends:

As we welcome in a new year, I am pleased to share with you ways the Black Women's Health Imperative is growing and changing as we renew our commitment to provide Black women with even better health information, programs and resources in 2008.

2007 was a year of change for the Imperative. With my appointment as president and CEO and the selection of Janet Taylor, M.D., MPH, as the new board chair, the board approved a strategic direction of expansion and rebuilding. Key to this growth included re-designing our award-winning Web site - www.BlackWomensHealth.ORG, increasing our national headquarters staff by six and expanding our programs, partnerships and collaborations with national and community-based organizations.

By enhancing www.BlackWomensHealth.ORG, Black women will be able to experience the power of our Web site. It is a virtual tool, a comprehensive, interactive online health education center and a meeting place to network and share stories and experiences. The site is rich with health information about all types of health conditions and state-of-the-art, interactive tools to help Black women make decisions about their health care. 

There are six channels - The Imperative, Health-Wise Woman, Healthy Living, Let's Connect, Take Action and Donate Now. In The Imperative section, we share our story and mission, introduce you to our leadership and outline some of the organization's milestones since 1983. Due to growing demand, a new membership program will be launched this year. This section also contains all of the necessary information you will need to register for our 25th Anniversary Celebration on June 19-20, 2008, in Washington, D.C. In addition, we are pleased to offer a health events calendar, where we will keep you informed of meetings and conferences of interest.

The Health-Wise Woman and the Healthy Living sections promote healthy living principles for Black women. In the Health-Wise Woman section, visitors are linked to information and Imperative programs to empower Black women to become better educated health care consumers. The Healthy Living section features interactive health tools, tips and techniques for healthy eating, physical fitness and achieving emotional wellness, meal planning, recipes and much more.

The Let's Connect section links visitors to our growing network of empowered Black women. This section provides a forum for Black women to discuss health concerns and issues, talk with health experts and encourage each other to live will. The Take Action section encourages action on legislation that affects the health of Black women.

Finally, the Donate Now section gives you the opportunity to support the Imperative, a 501(c)3 non-profit, in continuing to serve the health needs of Black women. The destiny of Black women should not be written by others. With your support during this period of growth, 2008 will be a banner year for the Black Women's Health Imperative as we remain firmly committed to promoting quality health information and policies for Black women.

I look forward to keeping you updated on our future plans as they progress throughout the year and meeting you in June at our 25th Anniversary Celebration that's organized under this theme - "Reflect, Rejoice, Renew: Celebrating 25 Years of Promoting Health and Well-being for Black Women."

In health and wellness,

Eleanor Hinton Hoytt
President & CEO