WEforum Volunteer Membership Questionnaire

The WEforum Group encourages the participation of volunteers who support our mission.

WEforum, a Women’s Education Forum, is a female-led organization comprised of women volunteers who share a passion for promoting health and wellness in their communities. WEforum aims to strengthen the health and wellness of our local communities by educating and empowering individuals to take charge of their healthcare choices and make informed decisions. WEforum’s goal is to change the healthcare paradigm by concentrating on behavior modification. We partner with community leaders, wellness professionals, educators, and business organizations to promote a culture of healthy living. We foster awareness through community events, empower young people and adults alike through various programs, and raise funds to develop and support community programs and services that are free and accessible to all.

WEforum developed 7 Pillars of Health: Eat, Move, Breathe, Sustain, Prosper, Heal, and Connect for Life. Together these pillars create a well-rounded platform of information to guide one toward a healthy life. Across these pillars, WEforum has developed programs that have been co-sponsored with local community leaders and educational institutions. The programs focus on a range of topics, including promoting a healthy lifestyle with educational activities for early detection and prevention. In addition, many WEforum programs target specific community needs such as Wise Up: Teen Advocacy Group, teens promoting health and wellness; Curious Gardener Summer Camp, science, reading, math, and art taught around soil and the garden; WEforum Lecture Series, based on a variety of health and wellness subjects; Step Up: Advocates Changing Tomorrow, environmental advocacy; and WEsupport, Women Helping Women, support for women with children diagnosed with ADHD; and many more.

The money raised through WEforum’s health and wellness conferences and annual Fit Crawl event, including our upcoming Fit Crawl 2023, supports free educational health and wellness programs and services developed by Monmouth Medical Center (MMC) and the hospital’s LiveWell Center located at the Anne Vogel Family Care and Wellness Center in Eatontown. In addition, we are proud to help fund the WEforum Demonstration Kitchen, which offers free health and wellness programs, including nutritional classes, to youth and adults in Monmouth County.

In partnership with MMC and other community organizations that share our vision, we strive to enact positive changes in our collective healthcare outcomes. WEforum is committed to spreading knowledge on how to live a happier, healthier, and more balanced life.

‘When you educate a woman, she empowers her family, and together WE can evolve community.’


WEforum Committee Descriptions

We will provide descriptions of each committee, and then you will be given the option to provide feedback or ask questions. At the end of the form, you can choose which committees you would like to join or learn more about. Thank you for your time and volunteerism. It starts with you, and we appreciate your time and consideration in learning more.

 

Fit Crawl Team (Move for Life Pillar)

Since 2016, WEforum has organized, marketed, and promoted an annual Fit Crawl to motivate our community to “Move for Life.” Why do a pub crawl when you can do a fit crawl? We partner with local health and wellness studios, vendors and other local businesses. This event allows participants to sample 3 fitness/wellness classes followed by a “Happy Hour” at a local venue.
This year, WEforum will return the Fit Crawl to its original format after a long road navigating Covid guidelines. A Fit Crawl is a one-day event that has 3 back-to-back class sessions beginning at 1:00 pm. Each class session will have multiple classes to choose from, with more than 30 classes. In addition, the Fit Crawl will host a post-crawl event with local vendors offering food, juices, services, and apparel for participants to sample.

We are looking for committee members who are “Move for Life” enthusiasts. Whether you love to walk, run, hike, bike, or swim; we welcome everyone to help us continue the nation’s longest running and largest Fit Crawl.

8th Annual WEforum Fit Crawl 2023

11 x17-9 poster w_logos

 

WEforum’s Wise Up: Teen Advocacy Group (TAG) (Connect for Life pillar)

TAG you’re it!

Inspired by the WEforum mission, this group of female (delete female )teenagers engages in the community by volunteering, raising awareness, or raising funds for organizations that meet WEforum’s requirements. In addition, they choose their own topics they believe are important to their peers, and learn how to improve their care and the world around us.

Wise Up’s first initiative centered around nutrition and kicked off with the “Eat For Life: How the Power of Food Can Heal Your Body” conference. With their Nourish Coaches, Debbie and Wendy, they learned:

  • How to select healthy products and read labels.
  • Why it’s important to source your foods properly.
  • How to cook fast, simple, healthy recipes on a budget.

Wise Up teens have also worked closely with Step Up: Advocates Changing Tomorrow on a NO Plastics campaign. Together, the teens have educated their peers and younger students on protecting the environment and how that will have a direct effect on their health.

This year, our focus will be:

  • Athletic nutrition, how to eat and prepare for athletics and sports pre- and post-games and training.
  • Developing a cookbook for teens going to college that will include local chefs providing recipes for affordable, easy, and fast meals.
  • Learning how social media works and creating TikTok videos, and making “broccoli sexy” by creating recipes with the Nourish Coaches and other chefs/nutritionists in our local area.

If you are interested in working with our teens, have something you can share, want to organize projects and events, and want to help empower a strong group of young women, please join this group.

 

WEforum Community Conversations (All Pillars)

WEforum Community Conversations are important community events that highlight the most trending (not trendy) and relevant health topic on everyone’s mind. WEforum tends to be ahead of the curve and proudly produces and brings important conversations to our community to help parents and community members learn how to take care of themselves and their family.

WEforum Community Conversations include:

Other conversations on a smaller scale include the WEforum Dine and Chat and WEforum Lunch and Learn.

Please join our committee if you are interested in helping us curate speakers and design these events for the community. Your passion for health and wellness and your willingness to share that with the community is vital.

 

 

WEforum Lecture Series (All Pillars)

Professional development has a new spin in schools. As part of its yearly goals, which include accelerated math instruction and student wellness, many school districts commit to supporting the staff’s physical, mental, emotional, and occupational well-being. To support schools in pursuing of their goals, WEforum launched a health and wellness lecture series specifically curated to inspire and cultivate a work environment supportive of healthy behaviors.

Staff and faculty will spend an hour of their professional development time learning about the most current topics in health and wellness from the leading authorities in their field.

WEforum’s national network of expert practitioners are diverse in background and subject matter. They offer learning opportunities in diet and nutrition, reversing inflammation, movement, habit formation, sustainability, the effects of technology and social media on mental well-being, the role of DNA in health outcomes, and the impact of a personal outlook on health outcomes. Through these learning opportunities, WEforum and many schools intend to strengthen the health of the school community and beyond by empowering the staff to take charge of their health choices and to inspire a wellness mindset among the students whose lives they touch daily.

The WEforum Lecture Series now also works to provide school community conversations or parent academies to further educate the parent community. Parents need resources to help their children thrive, and WEforum lectures and conversations are relevant sources of information that go beyond an hour of conversation.

If you are interested in curating speakers or developing programs in the schools, please join this committee.

 

 

Eat for Life Events (Eat for Life Pillar)

Eat for Life events include community conversations, dine and chats, lunch and learn, LiveWell Center kitchen programming, or fundraisers (luncheons or cocktail events).

If you are interested in developing culinary events, designing educational food forums, and helping fundraise for our mission, please join this committee.

 

WEforum Newsletter (All Pillars)

If you are interested in curating content for our newsletter, editing, or working on design and implementation of the newsletter, please join this committee. We have writers, authors, professionals, clinicians, doctors, specialists, and more from across the state and the nation who contribute to our newsletter. Join us if you can write, or have a network of people who can contribute, or if you have a great eye for curating relevant and worthy content that is aligned with our mission.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Curious Gardener Summer Camp (Sustain for Life and Connect for Life Pillar)

The parent community of Mastro Montessori Academy of Shrewsbury, a private 501c3 school, came together in 2017 to fundraise for and build a seventeen-bed school garden in honor of Neil DeSena, Carolyn’s husband (WEforum’s founder) and parent who passed away suddenly. Neil’s children named this green oasis The Garden of Honor to recognize their father and to pay tribute to his love of gardening and inspiration to connect with nature. After one successful growing season, WEforum collaborated with Mastro to develop a camp program called The Curious Gardener Summer Camp to help sustain the growth and maintenance of the garden during the summer months.

During the camp program, children learn about sprouting seeds, composting, seasonal gardening, insect cycles, plant families, root study, garden bugs (both good and not so good), plant parts (edible vs. non-edible), nutrition, fertilizers (natural vs. unnatural), plant families, agriculture, farm to table, green markets, running a small business, and much more.

Monmouth Medical Center and President Eric Carney generously support the Curious Gardener Summer Camp. Through this support we welcomed children from The Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth County. This non-profit organization serves children from some of the most challenging circumstances in the county. The Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth County helps to provide a safe environment to learn and grow; fosters ongoing relationships with caring adult professionals; provides life-enhancing programs and character development experiences; and, most importantly, offers hope and opportunity.

If you are interested in helping us grow this program and to help us increase the summer camp student enrollment, please join this committee.

 

Tower Garden Project (Sustain for Life Pillar)

The Tower Garden project will develop an initiative that will help raise funds for a tower garden curriculum in schools across New Jersey. The goal is to finalize an educational curriculum based on working with a tower garden and to supply 3-5 tower gardens in all schools. For schools who don’t have a budget, WEforum will help to source funds for this program. If you have a background in gardening, education, training, sales, or working on sustainability projects and would like to help implement the project once it has been developed, please inquire about opportunities.

 

 

 

WEforum Wellness Ambassadors (Connect for Life Pillar)

When it comes to educating, empowering, and evolving our community towards wellness, we are stronger together than we are as individuals. At WEforum, we recognize success is brought forth as a community. WEforum Wellness Ambassadors are integral to helping WEforum raise awareness on how to take better care of ourselves and our family and promote a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. Our Wellness Ambassadors are leaders in our community, educating people on how to live a happier, healthier lifestyle in their own unique ways, aligning with one or more of WEforum’s seven pillars of health. Through mutual support and complementary activities, WEforum and Wellness Ambassadors strengthen each other’s missions and advance the culture of preventative health and wellness for all.

Wellness Ambassadors is an invitation-only group. We are reviving our ambassadors for 2023. If you would like to become an ambassador, please join our group to network, and we will share the requirements and process to become a WEforum Wellness Ambassador.

In 2023, we will have monthly zoom meetings for all ambassadors and committee members, and WEforum will offer professional, business, and personal development for this program. In addition, we will network and cultivate interest in our program for volunteer opportunities. Committee members are welcome to join the monthly professional zoom meetings.

Please join our committee if you would like to join the Wellness Ambassador group to network and connect with other like-minded professionals. In addition, we need help organizing volunteers and events with our Wellness Ambassadors.

 

Administrative: Head of Membership Development

Membership Development:  We have a large database of members and would like help in organizing the database, managing various members and matching their skillset to optimize
volunteer time based on need, organizing monthly meetings and membership socials and events.  We are looking for a Head of Membership Development and volunteers to work closely with the head.

Social Media Support:  Help create a Social Media Calendar and aid in posting content throughout the year on various platforms on behalf of WEforum.

Website Support:  Aid in keeping our website cutting edge and up to date.  Help us build out content and enhance interaction.

Back Office Support: Newsletter and Events – Help us keep things moving forward by aiding in compiling our newsletter monthly or helping to answer client emails and block and tackle for various events.

Internships:  We are consistently looking for innovative ideas generated by our future entrepreneurs, leaders, and changemakers.  We are always actively looking for post high school students looking to tackle a task, be a part of a committee or ongoing part of our team.  If you know of a high school graduate in college or on another life path, interested in the WEforum mission and being a part of the WEforum future, please make sure to let us know!

The following volunteer committees need your support. Please inquire further if you would like to help us support these committees in any capacity.

  • Fit Crawl (Move for Life)
  • Wise Up: Teen Advocacy Group (Connect for Life)
  • Community Conversation (All Pillars)
  • WEforum Lecture Series (All Pillars)
  • Eat for Life Events (Eat for Life)
  • Newsletter (All Pillars)
  • Curious Gardener Summer Camp (Sustain for Life)
  • Tower Garden Project (Sustain for Life)
  • Wellness Ambassadors (Connect for Life)
  • Administrative: Membership Development
  • Administrative: Social Media Support
  • Administrative: Website Support
  • Administrative: Back Office Support/Trouble Shooting
  • Administrative: Internships

 

THANK YOU!

Thank you so much for expressing interest in volunteering with the WEforum Group! Please feel free to pass this form along, share and amplify our message!

We will review the information you have provided and contact you within two weeks of your response. If you have any questions, please feel free to email weforumexecteam@gmail.com.

We look forward to having a great, healthy empowered start to 2023 with WEforum and YOU!

The WEforum Group

Carolyn DeSena, Founder and CEO
Jennifer Borenius, Chief of Staff
Kellie Fisher, Chief Operating Officer