Episode #563: Advancing Health Literacy and Ovarian Cancer Awareness with Beverly Wolfer of Tina's Wish

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0:48 It's easy to use. Go to the prospectwizard.com get a free 30 day trial. Talk to my boy Dave Gallen. He will get you all set up and let the leads flow based on the Wizard. Go get him. This is Pete Moore on Halo Talks nyc. I have the pleasure of bringing to our audience Beverly Wolfer, executive director of Many Things on the nonprofit side. We're going to talk today about health literacy. We're going to talk about giving back to the community. We're going to talk about education, we're going to talk about awareness and we're going to talk about her role in making that happen. So, Beverly, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me today.

1:30 So I know you met Dave Ganilin at a networking event, which a lot of people do because he attends a lot of networking events. So he is a networker and always finds right people to to bring on the show. So you've made a very selective screen by Mr. Ganiel and as our chief marketing officer and executive producer of Halo Talks. So Beverly, why don't you give our audience a quick bio on yourself and then let's talk health literacy. Sure. So I've been with Tina's wish for almost 13 years. I came at a time in my life when I was making a career pivot. I was in the commercial management consulting sphere with Booz Allen and Hamilton.

2:10 And I needed something where I could take all of those incredible skill sets I had and take it to a new community. And I found it here at Tina's Wish. I recognized that I could take all of my business background because running a not for profit is running a business as well as the opportunity to really love coming to work every day in support of an incredible mission. And it also allowed me to continue to use some skill sets I had learned when I started my Own family foundation to support American and American Jewish troops. Gotcha. So talk about Tina's wish. Started in 2008 in memory of Tina Brosman, Chief Judge of the SDNY Bankruptcy Court. What happened there?

2:56 She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. And tell us, you know, what, what transpired from there and then how the foundation got set up. Sure. So Tina Brosman was this very inspirational jurist and unfortunately she was diagnosed too late with ovarian cancer, which is a story we frequent. And the story that I've heard about her is that she wasn't angry for having ovarian cancer. She was angry that she didn't have a fighting chance against the disease. And the reason for that is we don't have an early detection screen. Women will go get a mammogram for breast cancer and a pap smear for cervical cancer. We don't have any ovarian like test. And so because of that and because the signs and symptoms are very benign and frequently experienced by many women, that it gets swept under the rug and then when it is finally diagnosed, it's diagnosed. Diagnosed in late stages where the five year survival rate is approximately 27% as opposed to stage one where it's 91%. So I think the numbers tell our story and we aim to change those. And what was her wish?

4:01 Because she got $29 million of donations, correct? Yeah. So today we've raised $29 million and her wish is to find an early detection screen. And I will say that since 2008 when the foundation began making grants, we've seen both progress, but also progress in the technology that's enabling the researchers to get closer to fulfilling Tino's wish. Gotcha. We're involved with Cycle for Survival, which a friend of mine from business school, Jen Goodman, Lynn, was started back in the day and they've been raising money for sarcoma and rare cancer. So I, I love your, your mission here and I think people should know that if you put enough money and, and resources towards one of these types of diseases or, or detection that you are going to get to, to the answer. And you just, you just need to be patient with how long it takes. So talk about some of the things that you're doing in order to get the message across on, on health literacy. And then as, as mentioned to you prior, you know, we've got health club operators, we got people that are invested in sports complexes, boutique studios. A number of groups are focused on primarily women for yoga, Pilates, bar programming.

5:30 How could they potentially either get involved as part of a fundraiser with you, kind of like they do with the Susan, you know, Coleman foundation or any kind of, you know, like events in a box or like a fundraising kit, you know, or like turnkey. So you could say, hey, like partner with us. Sure. So I'll take the first part of the question. So what did we do to address really the what what can people do in the absence of an early detection screen? And what we realized when people came to our events and that we have in person education that people were walking away with new knowledge. We've already to date have three women come to us that because they came to our event, learned about signs and symptom, they were actually took action and one was diagnosed in stage one and one in stage three of ovarian cancer. So we know we changed the trajectory of their lives. But how do we get our message out to a much broader audience? We created what we call a whole education and awareness platform called what to Know Down Below. And one of the components of that is a podcast series.

6:35 I urge anyone to go onto any of the podcast channels and download what to Know Down Below. We do have a heavy focus on ovarian cancer, but we've also been expanding it to other gynecologic conditions. So whether it's the other gynecologic cancers, whether it's about menopause, perimenopause, ovarian cancer, cysts, endometriosis, et cetera, how to advocate for yourself as a patient. So we're really trying to bridge the gap with what you alluded to earlier, which is really a dearth of health literacy amongst our community. And so we hope that people will take advantage of it. You asked me about how could people listeners get involved. So we'd love to partner with any of your audience members, whether it's co branding the materials, having materials available in the gyms or yoga studios or Pilates studios, as well as we are creating decals to go on the back of bathroom stalls. So that amazing idea for stadiums and other studios. And we're just looking to partner with like minded individuals who want to share this education and awareness with their communities. So Beverly, you know, are there any.

7:50 Can we find or are there already people that are in the fitness industry that are influencers, maybe someone, something that can be generated from our audience here listening to this podcast that have had these conditions, took action at the right time with, with enough, you know, years ahead for this to proliferate where they've taken action and, and they could also be kind of like a, you know, mouthpiece for, for this in our industry or the halo sector, health, active lifestyle outdoors, which we use, maybe that's something that, that would be a, a nice consequence of, of putting this out there. So if anyone in our audience knows of someone that has had any kind of ovarian cancer and they got it diagnosed and then treated properly, that'll be helpful to get to us. So we can use that as part of our marketing, obviously, if they're comfortable with it. So, Beverly, how, how have you seen some of the traction that you get when you partner with local, you know, called mom and pop operators or any kind of chains that say, look, this is what we're getting behind?

8:57 Sure. So we've seen a few different things. One is they've sometimes chosen to do, let's say, like a smaller fundraiser for us locally within their own community. And then while they're doing it, whether it's like a kind of like a cycle for survival kind of activity or just a class that's being dedicated in honor of Tina's wish, we then also provide the materials to them to also share with their attendees. And so as we all know, you know, people like to do activities that they're passionate about and they like to do them for a good cause. So if you can combine the two together and we always see it as a win, win. And I think you mentioned earlier, like, do we have a, you know, kit in a box? And yes, we are happy to send things out to people and also send things electronically. And we found that to be really effective.

9:48 This is Pete Moore. I want to let you in on a little secret. There's this company called Promotion Vault. And what they do is they give. Out rewards from retailers that allow you to incentivize your members without having to do zero down and one month free or giving away shakes or giving away T shirts. What you want to do is build a rewards program that lasts, that people value and that doesn't discount your own products and services. So here's the deal. There's something called Rewards Vault. The Rewards Vault is going to allow. A member to set up their own profile. They are going to answer questions. You are going to get those answers. You're going to be able to target those members and you're going to reward them inside your club, inside your spa, and outside of the club and outside of the spa to get them to become loyal, to get them to pay their monthly dues and to be rewarded properly for the actions. A lot of companies are cutting back on Rewards, you shouldn't be promotional. Your answer, trust me, this is real.

10:52 So. So from a standpoint, let's. Let's talk about you as an executive and as a, you know, somebody who worked in, you know, a big firm before and now kind of running, you know, a nonprofit and probably much more entrepreneurial. How has that kind of impacted you? When you got up in the morning? How does it impact you? Maybe, you know, you're giving up some financial rewards, but you're getting other rewards. You know, I could be working at a. An investment bank, and they wouldn't let me do a podcast like this for compliance reasons. I also wouldn't be allowed to wear a hat. You know, I wouldn't probably be able to go to a basketball game because someone's like, you know, it's during the day. So how has it kind of changed your life? And when someone, you know, questions you about, like, where you took your career, it would kind of shift this to, you know, people that actually take the leap and say, you know what? I'm just not. I'm not who I want to be. I don't feel like this is my purpose and I want to change and actually do something about it. No, it's a great question. I have to say, every day when I get up, I'm not necessarily saving or impacting someone's life with the education and awareness, but overall, because I'm still doing things like HR and accounting and an audit and bookkeeping and, you know, working with the teams that support us and all of those activities. But at the end of the day, I also know what the purpose is for and why I'm doing what I'm doing. And when we host events, I was just in D.C. last week and the week before in LA,

12:22 and people come up to us and are like, I had no idea about anything you just talked to me about. And we do it in under 30 minutes. And we. I doesn't matter. The educational level of the audience people always leave with, always call it like a nugget of new information. And from my perspective, at the end of the day, I tell everyone I hire onto my team and I tell prospective donors, my goal is to put myself out of a job. My goal is for us to solve Tina Brosman's dying wish and to find an early detection. And I can't think of a better way to put on my next resume, you know, how to put myself out of a job. Because we solved the problem that we went into solving, right?

13:02 Businesses are always just there, like, oh, we'll just keep doing what we're doing. But we're constantly innovating, funding new science, creating new education awareness opportunities and impacting more and more people. And to me, that's what gets me up in the morning. I mean, that's great. And just to get a little bit personal, because it's our 15 year anniversary tomorrow for Integrity Square. Thank you. And we've gotten, we've got about 600 podcasts, we've got a Halo Academy. We're trying to get this word halo out there. And I was kind of reflecting just to give our audience a little bit of background here. It's appropriate to do it based on what you just said is like, I feel like I'm pretty close to like accomplishing my mission. Where there's been a lot of money that's been invested in the health club and the halo sector over the last 15 years. There's a company that was 17 clubs back in 2012 that we sold to a private equity group. It's now 115 locations. It's gone from 10 of EBITDA to 110 of EBITDA. It's opened up another 100 locations that 8,000 people work out at. So it's 800,000 people that have a health club membership now, I think is the math maybe even more. Is that right, Dave? By doing 100 just real quick. Yeah, it's about 8, 000 members per club to 8 million actually. Dude, not 800. Email people have a

14:32 fitness facility that they work at. So I'm thinking like to you saying like, hey, I want to shut down. I want to get take myself out of a job. It's such like a powerful thing to be able to say that you want to do because you had a mission and it might actually just be eradicated. Like it's not an issue anymore. So I ask people here on our audience to think about if you were to be able to put yourself out of a job and actually go and do something else that, that needs you because you'll take your skill set and you'll say, okay, what's the next problem? Like who's, who's the next Tina and what was her wish and who hasn't solved that? So I applaud you for thinking that way and actually articulating that way because there's nothing better than saying like, hey, I finished what I needed to do and now I'm going to go do something else on our anniversary. I'm thinking like, I'm almost like at that point Where, Dave, thanks to you and me and everybody else, like, we're getting close to, like, the seventh inning of this thing. So anyway, just want to add that in. So thank you for letting me do that. Based on what you said, that pinched me in a certain way. So as you look forward, you've also got another foundation that you run related to your brother who was killed in Iraq. And there aren't that many. I mean, I'm sure there are several thousand Jewish Americans that are still in the Army. Thankfully, I didn't have to go. You know, it's one of the blessings, I guess, of being born in this era where there was like a cold war, no one had to actually go in there. So talk about your brother's decision to join the army,

16:06 which I don't know if my Jewish mother would be like, that's a great career choice, Pete. Like, you should really go and fight for the country. So how did that transpire? Sure. So my brother, when he went to WashU in St. Louis, made the decision to join ROTC Reserve Officers Training Course. And that was in 1989. And my dad was in the reserves. He was. Did not fight active duty during Vietnam. But being. But our grandparents definitely served in World War II. My brother. And so my brother joined ROTC at Wash U. He graduated as a second lieutenant in 93. And they didn't need active duty troops. Right. This was pre 9 11. And so we stayed in the reserves. And then it wasn't until 2005 that my brother was called to active duty in Kuwait. And then he was called back in 2000, 2005 to Kuwait and 2008 to Baghdad. So he's a year. She's a year older than me. I went to Emory, which basically like the wash U. Of St.

17:08 Louis vs. Emory in Atlanta. So I never even thought about joining. I don't even know if they had it there. But quite a. Quite a decision for him to be making. It really was. And you know, during all that time and even when he went away to Kuwait in, oh, five, he was married. He had one child when he left to go to Kuwait. And his second child was born when he was in Kuwait. And he didn't hold her, my niece, until she was eight months old. And so I always tell people think about the sacrifices even beyond the ultimate sacrifice my brother paid. But it's really a family commitment to our country, to upholding our values and to doing something truly selfless. I mean, as you were. And I were both saying. You were saying about how you've started this business, I've gone into the not for profit. We also, we get to make those choices.

18:01 But once you make a commitment to the military, you can't just back out, you know, my brother's first deployment was for 13 months and then his second deployment when he went to Baghdad. He would only been there three months when he was killed by an incoming missile that we know came and was funded by Iran. Wow. It's crazy. So what's the, what's the nonprofit there surrounding and what are you trying to do to, you know, basically like support his memory and what he quote, unquote, his wish? Correct. So my mom is very fond of saying that we're my brother's memory keepers. And so we're determined to keep his legacy alive, not only for his children, my children, but really our greater community. Because as you said, you don't know very many people that have served, let alone an American Jewish soldier. And so we also didn't want to simply be an Amazon fulfillment center. So we also do education and awareness programming, whether it's for Veterans Day, Memorial Day, or throughout the year with schools, community groups, churches, synagogues, et cetera, for both children and adults. And there's always then a call to action, and we make care packages that we then send overseas to our deployed troops to let them know that there's people at home that are thinking of them beyond their mom and dad. Foreign.

19:21 This is Pete Moore. Here's the last tip for you of the podcast. We are partnered up with a company called higher dose higherdose.com they are the leader in workout recovery products. Infrared technology, LED light masks, neck enhancers, and other products such as PEMF mats and sauna blankets. If you have not gotten on the workout recovery train yet, your time and your stop is now. You got to get these products in there before these workout recovery and spas end up saturating your market. Having your members walk out of the club and going into one of their locations for 200 bucks per month where they're paying 39 to you. Let's become an expert in workout recovery. If we are already an authority in. Workouts, Higher dose, check it out. There's a wholesale code and we look.

20:16 Forward to helping you augment your products. And services to meet the demands of your members. And hey, let's get people happy, healthy and sweating. And the recovery should be just as good as the workout. Did you watch that movie about the. The women that basically like got all the mail to the. What was it called again? I just saw It. I just saw it as well. It was such an incredible movie. I knew nothing about that unit. Can you find out what the name of that was? It was on his Oscar award. I don't know if. Oscar, Academy Awards. Yeah. It was great. About all the African American women that were basically deployed to get through the mail to make sure it got to the soldiers. And it was like they took over, like, an old church or they took over, like, an old school or something. And, like, had, like, this awesome, like, assembly line. They were figuring everything out. Got it out, like, six months. They're basically, like, set up there to fail and succeeded.

21:17 The one thing that I. I've been thinking about lately, because of my grandparents, my grandfather passed away, like, 20 years ago, and I. I wrote up this, like, top 10 list. And he, like. He's probably the only guy who, like, had all of his grandchildren sequentially, like, in a car where he fell asleep on, like, the Meadowbrook Parkway and, like, got him home safely. You know, it's crazy stuff, but, like, the boat. The biggest thing he did was he got, you know, from Odessa to come to America. Like, it's the most important thing that you ever did instead of, like, this chain of events. Do you think right now there's, like, harder to keep people's memory alive because there's so much social media and there's so much. You're inundated with so much information that people don't really take as much time to remember the past because there's so much in, like, being inundated with information that they don't make time for that. It's one of the things that's been bothering me personally. It's actually a great question. I mean, I definitely think. Right. It's like, whatever comes through your feed, that's what's on top of mind. Present. But interesting. When I do post about my brother and I do post about the programs, the engagement that I get is tremendous. And I think that comes from the fact that people are proud to be American and they don't know how to demonstrate that. Yeah, true. So when I provide an opportunity for them to come to an event or to write a letter or to bring me into their community, they actually are really excited and proud to do that. And so it becomes a twofold. Not only can I honor and remember my brother, but then we get to engage and

22:48 hear about other people's stories as well. Of service. That's great. Well, it's been a pleasure talking to you. I love what you're doing and your mission and hope you accomplish your mission, you know, in due course. So you could go take on another mission and challenge that you will succeed at fulfilling with. Your brother succeeded his mission, obviously, as well during his time there and the seat of what happened. So we'll get all the information out. Maybe we can sync up after the podcast launches, try and target a couple of fitness studios that are primarily women's communities, that are age appropriate that we could do some testing with and from our audience. I'd love to see if we can find a couple of people who've had ovarian cancer detection early that would be able to to be a mouthpiece and an advocate for this, because it would be a shame to have people learn about this later in life and know that if we had just one, you know, piece of information that gets to them as an aha moment, that this just doesn't have to happen to other people. So thanks for everything you do, Beverly, and thanks for coming on Halo Talks. Thanks for having me and happy anniversary.

23:59 Thank you. Appreciate that. Sa.