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This activity has been approved for 2
contact hours by Shands HealthCare.
Shands HealthCare is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the Georgia Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
Certificates will be distributed on site.
Call (352) 262-6907 for more information.
We had a beautiful BOLD
Benefit Family Photo
Session
at the Cellon Oak (Florida's largest live oak!)
on April 25th. It was great seeing so many families
come out and enjoy
this amazing tree. Thanks to our WONDERFUL photographers for making it a success! Memories by Misti and Marcy Hairston.
WMNF 88.5 Community Radio in Tampa devoted a whole hour of their Women's Show to the BOLD Gainesville show! It was a great interview and Karen Brody even joined in. Listen to it here.
The Florida School of Traditional Midwifery invited BOLD Gainesville to
their Annual Midwive's Day Festival on May 9th. This year it was entitled a
Celebration of Life and was such a loving group of
people and wonderful evening. We had a great time and
met
many new friends. Hope to see you at our performances in June!BOLD Gainesville had an amazing experience bringing the message of BOLD and the stories of BIRTH to a local high school on Monday, May 18th. Loften High School is home to the ACCEPT program which focuses on pregnant
teens and teen mothers, supporting them as
they
continue
their education. Loften is the only high
school in the area with an
on-campus daycare for use by the students. The daycare is
provided free
of charge and cares for the children from the beginning to the end of a
full school day. Loften is proud to have a very high breastfeeding rate
and girls are called out of class to nurse their babies. Girls from PACE were also invited to the performance. PACE is a community-based, gender-responsive prevention, diversion and early intervention program serving girls, ages 12-17. It is nationally recognized for helping girls find success in school, with their families and in their communities by integrating education, counseling, training and advocacy.
We had approximately 130 Loften students and 20 girls from PACE in our audience. The program ran in the morning for about an hour and a half. The audience laughed, shouted back at the treatment of some of the characters, and chanted MY BODY ROCKS throughout the play. They were engaged and moved. We were all moved too by the reactions of the audience. The air truly felt electric in that room.
After the performance, we had a local pediatrician and two childbirth professionals for our talkback panel. Students wrote down questions on index cards that ranged from 'What do they cut during an episiotomy?' to 'Can you really give birth in water?'. At one point someone said the way for a man's body to rock is to be supportive of his partner in birth and parenting and a number of young men in the audience stood up and applauded.
We held a private red tent for the girls from the ACCEPT and PACE programs. Lunch was provided and they were given the space to process and share their feelings on the play and their own birth experiences. It was a special bonding experience for both the girls and the cast. We were able to share our birth stories too and support one another with our experiences and thoughts. It was an energizing (and exhausting) day that reinforced in all of us the reason why we are part of this movement. It was powerful and beautiful!
"WOW!!!! What an incredible experience! My students are still talking about it! Thanks so much to you, the other cast members and the Red Tent coordinators for an outstanding event.
I had so many positive comments from the ACCEPT girls, especially. They were touched that you made them feel so special."
Liz Purdue, Director of ACCEPT
Get Into the Groove! Fun Fundraising event for BOLD on Saturday, May 30 from 5-7pm at Zumba Fitness (714 NW 23 Ave). It's a dance club without the club, exercise without the class. A women-only fun fitness event. Good music, groovy ladies, no boyz, no booze, no judgement. Price is $5/person.
Honoring Shands AGH
Maternal/Child Services for their
75 years of service to Gainesville's mothers and babies.
75 years of service to Gainesville's mothers and babies.
This production of BIRTH is co-sponsored by the City of Gainesville,
Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs.