Home Health “Now is the Time!” Black Women’s Wellness Day Set for Sept. 16

“Now is the Time!” Black Women’s Wellness Day Set for Sept. 16

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Members of the Black Women Wellness Day planning team get ready for last year's big day. Lisa Peyton-Caire is in front.

On Sept. 16, the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness will host its ninth annual Black Women’s Wellness Day. this year’s theme is “Now Is the Time! (To live, to lead, to thrive)”

“The powerful message around our theme is now is the time to live, to save our own lives and address this issue of health disparities among black women,” said Lisa Peyton-Caire, foundation founder and president. “Then we need to make the decision to lead. As we secure our own wellness, we also have to figure out ways to bring that sense of well-being to our community so that we all can thrive.”

Lisa Peyton-Caire

This year’s event will feature a keynote speech from Susan L. Tayor,
Susan L. Taylor
founder and CEO of the National CARES Mentoring Movement and Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of Essence Magazine. In line with the theme, Taylor will discuss the importance of self-care in building and sustaining the stamina needed to lead.

“I think that every Black woman’s challenge is that we’re all conscious of our social responsibility to invest in our families, communities, and children and so many of us are doing the good work of building. But how do we do that and sustain that while also first pouring into ourselves so we can be in this for the long term? That’s the question we must answer and solve because there is much to do to save ourselves individually and collectively,” said Peyton-Caire.

In addition to a keynote, there will be four workshops covering topics of financial wellness, black women leading in building sustainable communities, and transformations and testimonies of real women who have faced and overcome challenges. Sagashus Levington, founder & CEO of Infamous Mothers, LLC whose work was recently highlighted in Essence Magazine will be among the featured presenters.

There will also be a workshop for teen girls that will include a Sister Circle lead by Taylor and BWWDAY planning team member Dr. Jasmine Zapata. Fifty vendors and exhibitors will be selling and showcasing wellness and lifestyle products and educating attendees on local health resources at the event and there will be a fitness demonstration, free chair massages and raffle giveaways valued at over $5,000.

Tickets for the event are $45 for general admission and $25 for students. The foundation also provides at least 100 sponsored seats.

“We are committed to including everyone, regardless of income,” said Peyton-Caire. “We encourage people to buy more than one ticket because we have an overwhelming amount of request this year for those scholarship tickets and people do use them.”

The ninth annual Black Women’s Wellness Day will be from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Alliant Energy Center with a reception to follow.

“We want women to leave knowing that they have the power to do this, to seize this moment to consciously transform their lives and communities, and that now is the time. That transformative power changes everything for all of us and that’s what Black Women’s Wellness Day is all about,” Peyton-Caire said.