Women Blog

From 2,000 women’s colleges in 1960 to 57 today, Georgian Court University still thriving after all these years

The year was 1908: it was illegal for women to smoke in public in New York, females were declared unfit to operate automobiles in Cincinnati, and women around the world were struggling to gain the right to vote. Yet, in spite of this post-Victorian era that showed little advantage to women, in Plainfield, New Jersey, the Sisters of Mercy built a $3-million facility and founded Mount St. Mary’s College and Academy for Young Ladies — the institution that would later move to Lakewood and change its name to Georgian Court College. Now, a century later, the highly-esteemed Georgian Court University is celebrating its Centennial with a variety of events, programs, and ceremonies.

“One hundred years ago, our Sisters stepped out of tradition to build this dynamic learning institution for young women. Today, Georgian Court University serves more than 3,000 graduate and undergraduate students of all faiths and backgrounds in our residential Women’s College and coeducational University College,” says Rosemary E. Jeffries, RSM, Ph.D., university president. “I believe our founding Sisters would be pleased at how far we’ve come and inspired by where we are heading.”

The official kickoff of the yearlong Centennial Celebration is Wednesday, September 24, also known as Mercy Day, a feast day of Our Lady of Mercy, and also a day celebrated around the world by the Sisters of Mercy, GCU’s sponsoring organization. The day begins with a noon Mass, followed by the much-anticipated opening of the GCU Wellness Center at 3:00 p.m. and a candlelight ceremony that evening.

“The Wellness Center will help usher Georgian Court into the next 100 years of serving and educating our community,” says President Jeffries. Georgian Court broke ground on the $26-million, environmentally-friendly project in April 2007, and the Wellness Center complex has transformed the already picturesque and historic GCU campus. State-of-the-art athletic fields for softball, soccer, and a lacrosse/hockey field, an eight-lane track, and tennis courts have been completed.

The 67,000-square-foot building includes a 1,200-seat arena that will support the basketball, volleyball, and physical education programs, and an exercise science laboratory. The building will also house offices for the new exercise science, wellness, and sports major; professional dance studios for GCU’s new dance major; a fitness center; athletic program offices; a 25-seat classroom; spaces for reflection and gathering; and the university bookstore. The building’s placement adjacent to the existing library, academic buildings, and café creates a new landscaped campus quad and an important new campus center, unifying the Wellness Center in a village-like atmosphere.

COURT OF HONOR

To commemorate the first 100 years of Georgian Court, the university has established a Court of Honor that will honor 100 distinguished alumni. The Court of Honor is scheduled to become an annual tradition of recognizing graduates whose records of service, leadership, and achievement have brought distinction to Georgian Court. Starting in January 2007, the university began revealing 10 Court of Honor inductees per month. By October, those first 100 members will be revealed.

MERCY SERVICE MARATHON

The week of September 22-28 is Mercy Week at Georgian Court University. In celebration of 100 years as a Mercy institution of higher education, GCU will be partnering with local nonprofits and community organizations to host a 100- hour community service marathon. The Mercy Service Marathon will provide a special opportunity for all GCU students, staff, faculty members, alumni, and friends to roll up their sleeves and make a difference in the community. Participating organizations include the American Red Cross, Providence House of Catholic Charities, Literacy Volunteers of America, the American Cancer Society-Relay for Life, Catholic Charities Emergency and Community Services- Lakewood, Food Bank of Monmouth/Ocean, the Alpha School, Children’s Specialized Hospital, the Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program, the Lakewood Parks Department, Contact of Ocean County, and the Lakewood Public Library.

WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

As a university dedicated to the success of women for the past 100 years, GCU is the perfect place to bring women together for an empowering day of learning and sharing. The Women’s Leadership Conference, scheduled for March 2009, will include a keynote address and panels discussing a variety of important topics as they relate to women, such as business, politics, global leadership, health, and the media.

CENTENNIAL BOOK

In 2007, Arcadia Publishing launched the softcover book Georgian Court University, by Edwarda Barry, RSM, Ph.D., as part of their Campus History Series. The book is a pictorial history of the university from its founding in 1908 by the Sisters of Mercy as Mount St. Mary’s College and Academy for Young Ladies. Sister Edwarda is a member of the Sisters of Mercy and an alumna of the university. A former faculty member, department chair, and university trustee, she currently serves as university historian. The book, as well as other Centennial merchandise, is available online at http://www.georgian.edu/ and on campus in the GCU bookstore.

OTHER EVENTS

Other Centennial activities include a Centennial Ball to be held Saturday, October 18; the Centennial Convocation Ceremony on Friday, October 24, in the historic Casino Building; the planting of the Centennial Garden near the Wellness Center; and more.

For more information about Georgian Court University and its Centennial Celebration, please contact the university’s Office of Public Information and University Communications at 732.987.2266.

Founded in 1908 and sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, Georgian Court University is a comprehensive university with a strong liberal arts core and a special concern for women. A forward-thinking university that supports diversity and academic excellence, Georgian Court serves over 3,000 students of all faiths and backgrounds in a residential Women’s College and a coeducational University College with undergraduate and graduate programs. Georgian Court’s main campus is located at 900 Lakewood Avenue, Lakewood, N.J., on the picturesque former George Jay Gould estate, now named a National Historic Landmark. Georgian Court also offers classes at its site at 90 Woodbridge Center Drive in Woodbridge, at Coastal Communiversity in Wall, and at Cumberland County College in Vineland.

Source: Georgian Court University

Summer is finally come to an end and in two days’ time, we’ll be entering fall and eventually the winter season. It’s amazing how time flies! This is one weekend where I decide not to hang around in the mall and all I want is to laze in my comfortable home theater seating and lovesac beanbag with my boy and watch his favourite Playhouse Disney. It’s after all a long weekend for him too.

Some of you may be shopping around for alternative and contemporary furniture for your new home office in time for thanksgiving. If you are, you would Better be Packing a LoveSac! Check out LoveSac’s Back 2 School packages. Click Here to Save on your Sac. LoveSac is one contemporary furniture store with stuff that are funky, contemporary, cool, chic, comfy, artistic, functional and lasting. Their selection of bean bags, bean bag chairs and home theater furniture are the most comfortable pieces of furniture that will ever invade your home. LoveSac.com is really not a dirty website. Come visit LoveSac.com to see them all.

Lately, I have been exploring more on creating niche storefronts for my affiliate marketing business. I still believe that internet marketing is a very ideal work from home business. I am thankful for our seminar business in the last five years but it’s come to a point where we need to move forward and onwards.

Yesterday, I created two wedding storefronts and was amazed by how easy it was for anyone working from home to do that. I created a wedding gift blog using PopShops (popshops.com) and the other wedding shopping guide was via Bridaluxe, a storefront that was linked to only wedding affiliates and online merchants. At PopShops, you can created as many niche affiliate stores as possible (fee required) but if you are happy with just 10 then it would be FREE. Pick any niche you like: body jewelry, wedding, discount furniture, baby products…etc and your affiliate storefront can be created in 3 minutes! Yes, it is that simple!

New Eye Health Resource Center and Immunization Information Available to Consumers Online

“As parents start to think about back-to-school preparation, it’s very important they make sure that their ‘tweens’ and teens get recommended immunizations and a vision screening,” said Wayne Meyer, M.D., medical director for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri. “Now is the perfect time to schedule appointments with health care providers so that adolescents are up to date on vaccines and that eye disease is detected and prevented.”

Immunization
Vaccinations are not just for infants: they’re for adolescents, as well.

• Influenza vaccine is recommended annually for all children and adolescents, six months to 18 years. The best time to receive it is at the beginning of flu season, however, the vaccination can be given later.

• Meningococcal vaccine is recommended for all adolescents age 11-12 and at age 13-18 if not previously vaccinated. In addition, college freshmen who plan to live in dormitories should be revaccinated.

• Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is recommended for females age 11-12, but the vaccine (a 3-dose series) can be administered as young as age nine.

• Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis (Tdap) is recommended for all adolescents age 11-12 who have not received a tetanus and diphtheria toxoids vaccine (Td) booster dose. Adolescents age 13-18 who missed the 11-12 Tdap dose, or received Td only, are encouraged to receive a Tdap five years after their last Td/DTaP.

• Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine: All children should receive two doses of the varicella vaccine at age 12-15 months and 4-6 years. Because the risk for transmission can be high among students in schools, those without evidence of immunity should receive two doses of varicella vaccine and those who received it previously should receive a second.

• Hepatitis B vaccine is recommended for all children and adolescents who didn’t receive the hepatitis B vaccine series as infants.

• Measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR): All children should receive two doses of the MMR vaccine. The first is recommended at ages 12-15 months and the second at ages 4-6. If not received previously, children and adolescents age 7-18 should be vaccinated.

These recommendations may not apply to everyone, in every case, so parents should be sure and talk to their health care provider about what’s right for their child.

Vision

“A regular eye exam is a crucial part of back to school planning and a successful school experience,” said Dr. Meyer. “While most parents schedule annual physicals and dental appointments, it’s easy to overlook an annual eye exam as an essential part of any preventive health routine.”

According to some studies, adolescents with low vision were involved in fewer activities than their “sighted” peers, didn’t regularly spend as much time with friends and were more dependent on their parents for transportation. Studies also show that 80 percent of learning in children occurs visually, and approximately one in four school-aged children have visual disabilities that affects their ability to learn.

For more information on vision, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri has recently added the Eye Health Resource Center to its website, www.anthem.com. This educational tool, which is available to all consumers, features a series of videos ranging from how the eye works to diseases of the eye-to-eye health. The website also includes preventive health guidelines, including a complete recommended immunization schedule in the myhealth@Anthem section of the website.

Source: Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri

Pledges to donate a million dollars to America’s schools

Harried parents across America rejoice! SchoolPulse(TM) today announced the launch of new, desperately needed online tools so parents can manage their kids’ hectic school and extracurricular activities. Now, families can finally spend more time enjoying activities and less time keeping track of permission slips, practice locations, snack schedules, recital venues and car pooling arrangements.

More than 50 percent of American families spend only 10 hours together each week and now, with 45 million parents sending children back to school, it’s the perfect time for parents to make the most of each minute — and reclaim their sanity at last.

SchoolPulse simplifies parent’s lives by giving them simple tools to communicate with teachers, coaches, room parents, and other activity leaders. By registering, they receive a personalized homepage, calendar, and membership in groups for every activity in which their children are involved. These groups include discussion boards, wish lists, and photo sharing. Parents can finally move beyond the chaos created by all the disorganized communications coming at them via errant emails, late night phone calls, and crumpled notes in student backpacks.

Teachers, room parents, PTA leaders, coaches, and other activity leaders can manage their classrooms, teams, and groups on SchoolPulse as well. They can distribute schedules, invite parents to meetings, post classroom wish lists, and recruit volunteers to help using simple online tools. With a centralized place to share, everyone gets and gives what they need efficiently and expeditiously.

SchoolPulse founder, CEO, and father of four John Boynton explained, “Our kids’ lives are more complicated than ever. We created SchoolPulse to solve a problem that we understand very personally. This is all about enriching our children’s education and simplifying family life. It’s a great way to keep up with your kids.”

Recognizing that school budgets are under constant pressure, SchoolPulse is handing out a million dollars to schools across the country. The company is donating $1 for every parent and teacher who signs up before November 1 — up to $1,000 per school. Registration is free and takes only a minute. For complete details, visit SchoolPulse.com/million.

According to Boynton, “The Million Dollar Giveaway is our way of thanking schools for being a part of our family. The more people associated with a school that sign up for SchoolPulse, the more organized and easier everyone’s lives will be.”

Source: SchoolPulse

Many of us our concerned about job security these days, and some of us certainly have a reason to be concerned. According to statistics, the average person will be unemployed a couple of times during their working life, and the average span of unemployment is over  4 months long! According to US statistics, the leading cause of home foreclosure is the loss of income.

Plan For a Loss of Income with Private Unemployment Insurance.

Most of us plan to save, but months of hard earned deposits can be wiped out with one car repair or medical emergency. So when we enter a period of unemployment, we just don’t have a few months of income in the bank to back us up like we should. So instead of having time to find a decent job, we find ourselves out of time within days.

State unemployment benefits average less than $400 a week in most states, and that is just not enough to pay a mortgage, pay other bills, and also buy food for most families. These days, most salaried or hourly workers can benefit from private unemployment insurance, or layoff mortgage protection.

These programs actually pay cash, which may be better than traditional credit insurance. Traditional credit insurance only pays off the bill it was purchased for, or at least makes payments towards that bill. A cash benefit can be used in any way the consumers needs to, and by letting the consumer apply the money to the most urgent needs first, better choices get made, and the benefit becomes more useful!

A layoff protection program may also be more useful than traditional mortgage protection because a person is likely to become unemployed a few times before they actually pass away. And so they are more likely to lose their home and credit over an income loss than a death. 

layoff, unemployment, mortgage protection

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With the recent fuel hikes in the airlines industry, some families have to postpone their travel plans this summer. If international travel is blowing your budget, it’s perhaps time to consider domestic travel since it’s all about spending quality time as a family.

Perhaps you can consider booking a vacation home in the Outer Banks or spend a weekend in the exciting New York City with your family this summer. What matters most is to get together as a family and catch up over the lost time robbed by your hectic schedule and busy lifestyle. If domestic travel is your family vacation plan, check out these travel links for more travel savings:

New York City Sightseeing

New York City Tours

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After a few days of relaxing in the comforts of mom’s home, I’m back in my home office. This is going to be a cleaning up week since our last seminar of the year had ended. Cleaning up the home office is something we do on a yearly basis since there are lots to be cleared to make way for new stuff.

We are excited about our new internet business. As far as affiliate marketing is concerned, I have alot to learn from the affiliate marketing experts and it does take a great level of commitment and discipline to run this internet business from home. This morning, I was overjoyed to see that I had sold a Mole, Wart and Skin Tag Removal ebook… little sale like this can inspire and motivate the affiliate marketing newbie. This weekend, I’ll be mapping out my internet marketing business plan with my coach and mentor. Looking forward to this exciting affiliate business journey.

The First 400 Applicants for a Full-Ride Scholarship at http://www.projectworkingmom.com Can Receive Free Copy of ‘Life as a Single Mom: It Isn’t Easy or Is It?’

eLearners.com, a web resource of EducationDynamics, today announced that it will give away 400 copies of the book “Life as a Single Mom: It Isn’t Easy or Is It?”, by Stephanie Clark, to visitors of its http://www.projectworkingmom.com/ website. Clark is the founder & CEO of My Daughter’s Keeper, Inc., a non-profit organization empowering mothers, daughters, women and girls and a mother/daughter relationship coach. She is also the spokesperson for Project Working Mom, an online education advocacy campaign designed to help working moms improve their lives through education.

As part of the Project Working Mom campaign, which provides working moms the opportunity to receive a full-ride scholarship to one of the following schools: American Sentinel University, Ashford University, Capella University, Everest University or Penn Foster College, the first 400 scholarship applicants can receive the free book by checking a box on the scholarship application form saying they want “Life as a Single Mom: It Isn’t Easy or Is It?”. Clark’s book talks about the ten steps women need to take to achieve success as a single mom and includes a compilation of inspiring stories from 47 single moms. The book was released in October 2007 and 100% of the book sales are donated to My Daughter’s Keeper, Inc. to support its mission and programs for single moms.

“I wrote the book to help women see that ‘yes’ they can make their dreams come true,” said Clark. “Self-empowerment, confidence and education are what every mom, single or married, needs to have to succeed for themselves and their family.”

The book promotion starts Monday, August 25th when Clark will be featured in a radio interview at 11 a.m. EDT on WDAS-FM in Philadelphia, which can be heard on 105.3 FM in the Philadelphia market or at http://www.wdasfm.com/ nationwide. To apply for the scholarship women can go to http://www.projectworkingmom.com/ and submit an essay of 1,500 words or less that describes their life, education and/or career goals and explains how an online education will help them to reach their education goals.

Clark is the national spokesperson for Project Working Mom. The initial Project Working Mom campaign, which launched in January 2008, received more than 50,000 applicants, from working moms looking for financial aid to get the college degree they need to advance in their career. Due to the overwhelming demand for the scholarships, eLearners.com created Project Working Mom 2 in June 2008. The deadline to apply for a full-ride scholarship to Capella University, Ashford University and Penn Foster College is August 31, 2008. The deadline for Everest University and American Sentinel University is September 30, 2008.

“The thousands and thousands of essays we’ve received from working moms pleading for help to pay for college is heartbreaking. We are looking for more ways to help them and are thankful we are able to help some moms finally get the education they need to move into the career they’ve always wanted,” said Terrence Thomas, EVP Marketing for EducationDynamics.

To help finance a college degree, in addition to the full-ride scholarships provided through Project Working Mom, eLearners.com provides a database with $15 billion in scholarship opportunities at http://www.elearners.com/scholarships/. Visitors to http://www.projectworkingmom.com/ will also find a comprehensive interactive website with online education resources, profiles of working moms going to school online and a community of women sharing their experiences.

Source: eLearners.com

One in four British women admits to not looking after her teeth, including brushing and flossing, on a daily basis, according to a new survey released today by Align Technology, makers of Invisalign(R).

The survey asked women how important a good smile was; nearly two thirds (65%) of the women surveyed believe that a good smile results in a more confident individual, followed by 18% who said that someone with a good smile would be more likely to be successful in regards to romance and attracting a partner.

Teeth are clearly important in making an impression, but Brits are still living up to the stereotype of having bad teeth, as over one third of the women surveyed (36%) reported that they are embarrassed by their teeth. When asked what they would improve about their smile 49% of the participants stated ‘very white teeth’, followed by 29% wanting even and straight teeth.

The main problem is investing time and money in looking after our teeth. Nearly two thirds (64%) highlighted cost as a factor that deters them from getting their teeth straightened, with 73% only prepared to spend up to GBP1,000 on correcting their teeth. Yet when you compare how much women spend per year on their beauty regime, the survey revealed that the average woman happily spends GBP1,500 every year. Cosmetic dentistry, or correcting the smile with Invisalign costs between GBP3,500 and GBP5,000*, and when compared with the cost of cosmetics over the course of a lifetime, (and in light of the importance of an attractive smile), it is a small price to pay for a straight smile.

Dr Paul Humber, a leading dental practitioner commented, “The results of the survey demonstrate that women understand the importance of a healthy smile, but worryingly, they are not prepared to spend the time and money looking after their teeth. Fear of the dentist is an age old problem (24% are not willing to undergo corrective treatment based on fear), but new treatments such as Invisalign, which is a non-invasive procedure using a series of clear plastic aligners to straighten your teeth, have been popular, as they are discreet, and because they are removable, patients can brush and floss as normal. Invisalign gives me the chance to straighten teeth but without many of the treatment barriers that cause my patients to shy away from with traditional metal dental braces. The cost for treatment is a lifetime investment so when you compare this to how much women spend on beauty treatments, it is minimal.”

Respondents were also asked which features they are most likely to notice when they meet a potential partner: eyes came top with 59%, followed by smile at 32%. When asked the same question about other women, the smile was considered their most noticeable feature (43%), followed by hair (39%). Seeing as teeth are important to women, it is surprising to consider how little attention they pay to them, especially when women are prepared to spend up to 30 minutes a day washing and styling their hair (69%), moisturising their body (60%) and applying cosmetics (49%).

Invisalign uses a unique, advanced computer technology which can show you a personalised virtual progressive 3D model of how your teeth will move into place over the course of the cosmetic dental treatment and the expected end result. As with other types of braces and orthodontic treatment, the cost of Invisalign treatment is determined by your dental practitioner and will depend on the complexity of your case and course of treatment. However, the cost is generally comparable with the prices of traditional metal or invisible braces, making it an ideal treatment option for common orthodontic problems in adults and teens**. Whether your smile needs minor improvements or more extensive adjustments, Invisalign can help give you the smile you’ve always wanted, often in as little as 9 to 18 months (also comparable to treatment times for fixed metal braces)***.

*Treatment fees are set by the treating doctor, but the average cost ranges from GBP3,500 to GBP5,000 or EUR 4,000 to 6,000 (depending on treatment needs)

** Invisalign is effective on a broad range of cases. However, all permanent teeth must be present before treatment becomes an option. During your initial exam, an Invisalign-certified dental practitioner can determine whether you are suitable for the treatment.

*** Duration of treatment may vary and is dependent upon the condition of your teeth.

Source: Align Technology, Inc.