Comrades of the millennial generation are giving back in droves to communities and causes that speak to them. Artists are lending their skills as Creative Associates at health focused nonprofits, journalism enthusiasts are giving back as Communication Coordinators to environmental organizations, and more. For many, it’s a matter of finding the right organization that is in need of your skills and will make good use of them in the communities in which they work – directly or indirectly. When it is a good fit – skill to need, passion to cause – the volunteer gains invaluable experience and the organization is the better for it.

In a response to a comment I made on an article discussing this fit between nonprofit organizations and board directors, Alice Korngold, President of Korngold Consulting LLC and a Huffinton Post Blogger said that,

“The people whom I place on boards ultimately report that they are the ones who gain so much. In fact, I think that the board members who invest the most of themselves find it particularly rewarding — developing personally and professionally, feeling a deep sense of reward and satisfaction, learning so much, and having the opportunity to engage with amazing people they’d never have had the opportunity to work or socialize with!”

At this point in our trajectory, we are aggressively recruiting dedicated and talented volunteer staff members to materialize our goals and accommodate our growth in 2012. To make a bigger impact, we don’t necessarily need a bigger team, but we do need more hands that are skilled in various functions.

In fall of last year, we put out an internship list and gathered a great team of interns that worked independently to assist many of our functional organizational needs. This time, we’re calling for those that would like to make a longer and deeper  team commitment to our mission.

Take look at positions we are creating on our team. If you would like to make a leap into volunteerism (this is a leap year after all), connect with us at our Spring Volunteer Social!:

Connect with us in a meaningful way at our Spring Social. Find out how you can help us achieve our mission in Liberia!

Communications Director - directs communication channels to our supporters (i.e. newsletter, blog, social media, etc)

Social Media Associate (immediate) – manages our social media accounts daily; also utilizes social media analytical tools to monitor our social media presence

Blog Editor - manages and edits our blog, finds regular contributors (internal and external); works closely with Communications Director

Corporate Relations Associate – manages our corporate relationships, assist in corporate presentations

Fundraising & Development Director - directs our fundraising and development initiatives; seeks private contributions; uses knowledge of philanthropic and public relations interests of individuals/foundations/corporations to uncover funding opportunities for GBF; establishes relationships with these agents

Major Gifts & In-Kind Donations Officer – coordinates and procures major gifts and in-kind donations for campaigns, events, etc.

Events Director – manages marquee events calendar and initiates preparation and coordination; works closely with event planner

Product Development Associate - develops research for products to benefit GBF programs (i.e. immediate project: “The Bond Bracelet,” find out more at the Spring Social); manages the funnel from ideation to product launch

Finance Director & Controller – directs GBF finances and develops financial controls; prepares & maintains annual budget for operations and programs; manages relationship with the accountant; manages payroll & financial systems

Human Resources Manager – develops hiring process & practices; identifies volunteer staff vacancies and recruits, interviews and selects applicants; develop volunteer/employment manual

OR…have a fundraising idea or want to join the general Volunteer Team of 2012? Connect with us at the social!

At our holiday fundraiser, the Giving Health Soiree, we announced that a long time friend and supporter would be joining the GBF team in 2012. Many of you have heard us mention reference Dr. Rhoda Peters from time to time as she was our first friend and partner in Bomi County when we launched our Maternal Care Packages project and adopted our first maternal ward. Two years later, she currently oversees all medical operations at the Liberian Government Hospital as Chief Medical Director. We adore and admire her not only because of her accomplishments, but also because of her work ethic and heartfelt commitment to mothers and children. On our trip to Liberia in Summer 2011, we had the opportunity to meet her newly adopted son (below). His young mother died in childbirth.

See her interview below and read more about Dr. Peters here.

Dr. Peters with her son whom she adopted last year after this mother died in childbirth at her hospital. Unfortunately, she could not save his mom.

GBF friends are not strangers to Dr. Rigo Muhayangabo. We lodged with Dr. Rigo and the International Rescue Committee staff in Kolahun, when conducting our learning case study targeting pregnancy and liberian youth girls last summer. He became a trusted friend during our stay. And over the past couple of months, he’s come to be formidable informal advisor to the Maternal Care Packages program in Liberia. When we reached out to him about formalizing his role he was more than excited. Meet Dr. Rigo below:

1. Who is Rigo?
Rigo Fraterne Muhayangabo M, is a general surgeon, citizen of the Democratic

New Advisor, Dr. Rigo Fraterne Muhayangabo

Republic of the Congo dedicated to humanitarian services. He works as Medical Coordinator with the International Rescue Committee in Liberia, a non for profit organization which serves refugees and communities victimized by oppression and violent conflict worldwide. In the past, he worked with Merlin (Medical Emergency Relief International) in Liberia and with the Ministry of Health in Rwanda through global fund supported projects.

2.How did you get involved with the GBF and why?
I met Mrs Gbomai Bestman Johnson a year and half ago when she introduced to methe GBF and revealed me her intention of coming at Kolahun for an initial rapid assessment pertaining the culture of pregnancy in Liberian teenagers. I found her battle vital but I didn’t say much as I wasn’t sure how things would materialize.

The teenager’s pregnancy and maternal mortality have been a big challenge in Liberia for clinicians and communities. Many initiatives promoting family planing, promoting the use of health services through awareness and free of charge services, the implication of community health volunteers and traditional midwives, and more have failed to stabilize the situation in Liberia. Liberia is still reported among countries with high maternal and infantile mortality as result of complications of pregnancy and deliveries.

With the fore mentioned reasons, and knowing the multiples challenges that our actions are facing in all their phases of implementation in Liberia, i decided to join the GBF to continue bringing my expertise to the change of this unwanted situation into a desired situation where no mother should die in the process of the delivery and no child should die or develop short term, mid term or long term complications.

I was happy to be a part of the team which conducted the assessment on the culture of pregnancy in July 2011 at Kolahun-Lofa county-Liberia republic. The findings of this study will serve in the future proposal development and as baseline to monitor the improvement of this situation.

Our first holiday campaign was a big success! The last few weeks have been an extended Christmas holiday for the GBF team because we had a box of goodies at out doorstep every other day. Packages of Maternal Care Package items continue to arrive! We will post updates on our Facebook fan page as we get closer to our goal of 1,000 MCPs.

We want to thank each and every one of you that signed up to be a Drive Leader from the US to the UK, everyone that told a friend or rallied a family member, and everyone who gave a monetary donation. Moreover, we also want to thank everyone that attended The Giving Health Soiree Fundraiser, where we raised…

::drum roll::

$3,970 dollars from ticket purchases and donations

Lastly, we must recognize the individuals/businesses/organizations that gave in-kind donations or discounts to the Giving Health Soiree Fundraiser and/or campaign:

Starbucks (Olney & Silver Spring), FlutterPhoto, Cake Nuts, DJ Christian Nelson, Relish WDC, & Silent Auction & Gift Bag donors

With all of your support GBF continues to thrive! Bring it on, 2012!

As we grow and scale as an organization, we want to make it a habit to introduce new leadership to our supporter. We kick off the new year by welcoming three amazing advisors to our advisory board – some of whom you are already acquainted with if you have been with us since 2009, others you will be excited to meet. We start by welcoming seasoned health systems professional Meredith Safer Guardino!

How and why did you become involved with GBF?

New Advisor, Meredith Safer Guardino

As part of my work with CHAI, I spent a lot of time in Bomi County working with Dr. Rhoda Peters and the County Health & Social Welfare Team (CHSWT). I happened to be at the Bomi Government Hospital with Dr. Peters when Gbomai visited to unveil the remodeled pediatric room and mama-baby kits GBF had donated.  I’m a huge fan of Dr. Peters and anyone who knows her knows that Dr. Peters loves her mama-baby kits as an incentive for women to deliver at a facilities. I was pleased to meet Gbomai as someone who made it possible for Dr. Peters and the CHSWT to be creative and quickly implement. Gbomai’s enthusiasm is infectious and we kept in touch after that meeting. I was impressed with her efforts to understand and impact the big challenges through direct assistance to individuals. I’ve enjoyed watching GBF develop and helping where I can.

You have footprints all over the world from reputable firms to developing countries – from JPMorgan Chase to Syria. What lead you to working in little ‘ole Liberia?

Nothing little about Liberia in my opinion. I was leaving graduate school and most of my research and work at that point had focused on healthcare for marginalized populations, specifically aging refugees and prisoners- populations that motivated me because of the extra advocacy needed to access healthcare. I had great experience with UNHCR in policy and fieldwork for older refugees as well as with US prisons in healthcare and end-of life care for aging inmates. I was interested in working with marginalized populations in developing countries and was fortunate to be presented an opportunity to work more broadly on health systems with CHAI in Liberia.

This summer we asked the Liberia girls we worked with to draw three things every Liberian girl needs. We’d like to know what you answers would be, based off your experiences in Liberia. Shoot!

Intresting Nichole… I’d love to know what the girls’ most common responses were.  Obviously I’d like to see Liberian girls, like all Liberians, have equal access to quality: (1) healthcare, (2) education and (3) professional opportunities. In addition to those standards, if I can add a 2a, I’d love to see more Liberian girls develop independence through arts education and careers.

Read more about Meredith here>>

Two weeks ago, we had a surprise phone call with Liberian Entertainment Awards co-founders, Tarkus Zonen and Macsu Hill. In the spirit of what we’re thankful for, we’re excited to announce the outcome:

In 2012, our first stop of the year will be in the New York City of the South – Atlanta! On January 28th, the Liberian Entertainment Awards will host its 4th annual awards show honoring Liberians in entertainment, sports and service. Gbomai, our founder, will be honored as this year’s Humanitarian Award recipient!

We’ve asked all of you to join us in celebrating two years of service to women and children on December 17th in our hometown. But we would also be honored to have Liberians and friends of Liberia in Atlanta join us for this occasion, for without all of your support we would not have made it thus far. See details -

January 28th, 2012 @7pm

Ferst Center, Atlanta Georgia

http://www.liberianentertainmentawards.com/

The Liberian Entertainment Awards show will take place on January 28th in Atlanta, Georgia.

Last evening, the Giving Health Campaign launched and is in full throttle! With your help, we intend to reach our goal of sending 1,000 Maternal Care Packages (MCPs) to Liberia and expand operations to 2 additional hospitals that we visited this summer. As a drive leader in the MCPs Drive, you will rally your network of friends and family to donate the items from this list for 10 to 60 MCPs (Your choice! You choose a drive goal when you sign up). Take 2 minutes to find out why the contents of a MCP makes a difference, and find out more about the campaign here. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us: GivingHealth (AT) GbomaiBestmanFoundation (DOT).com.

For those who register to be drive leaders in our hometown Silver Spring, MD or in the DC metropolitan area, the deal gets mouth watering – like, Macaroni Grill mouth watering:

Sign up between today and midnight on Monday October, 31st and win a Mystery Gift Card worth $5-$500 dollars.

Some lucky drive leaders will score BIG! But if it’s not you, you have will have a gift of at least $5 to redeem at the downtown Silver Spring location at 911 Ellsworth Drive.

Twenty of these Mystery Gift Cards were donated to our campaign by the employees of Compassionate Nursing & Health Care Agency in downtown Silver Spring. Thus, the first 20 registrants take the cake! Ergh, we mean, takes the macaroni!

The Mystery Gift Card will be mailed to the lucky drive leaders on Tuesday, November 1st.

We can’t help but notice the irony of recent events in Liberia.

Last Friday, both Leymah Gbowee and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf – two women we admire at GBF – were jointly honored as Nobel Laureates with Yemeni Tawakkul Karman for their collective “nonviolent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.”

Projects Director, Nichole, met President Sirleaf this summer when she and Gbomai traveled to Liberia to conduct GBF's 1st case study.

Seventy-hours later, Liberia geared up for it’s second election since the end of the 2003 civil war. Riding on the coat tails of Gbowee and President Sirleaf’s praises, the election did not disappoint Liberian nationals and the international community that have worked tirelessly to stabilize the republic. In awe, we touched base with family members in Liberia and GBF supporters on the ground. In particular, Dr. Rigo, an advisor to our case study in Lofa reported that “all was well.” Dr. Rigo, a Congolese expatriate general surgeon, works with the International Rescue Committee in Kolahun. He took the 10 hour trek from Kolahun to Monrovia to observe the elections. With confirmations from the ground, we had to be a part of the conversations and victories parties that took place yesterday, online and offline, to celebrate the peaceful voting process.

Although many people and organizations can call this a victory, we believe the real honorable mentions go to the women that have passively and aggressively fought to secure peace in their communities. We invited Leymah Gbowee to the Platinum Health Benefit last year to speak about the power these women have had on the grassroots level and the inevitable bridge between their status and maternal mortality. As both a grassroots organizer, an internationally acclaimed women’s activist, and a self-proclaimed feminist, we couldn’t have thought of a better keynote speaker make this connection. View her address at last year’s benefit here.

Mawine Diggs, Gbomai, & Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, at GBF's Platinum Health Benefit held August 21st, 2010.

The Nobel prize selection committee stated matter-of-factly that, “the world cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society.” But to pursue these opportunities, their maternal health must be made a priority. Not only do we congratulate the President and Gbowee for leading the way to peace and prosperity in Liberia, but we thank them for illustrating the vast reaching capabilities of a woman and her worth. Through our work we have met many women and girls who could never imagine being more valuable than their birthing and domestic functions. But time and time again, women like Gbowee and President Sirleaf are changing this perspective.

Editors Note: Kelli Clifton, a Georgia native, joins the Gbomai Bestman Foundation’s advisory panel! Nichole briefly nterviews Kelli Clifton about her involvement and what led her to GBF.

I still remember the day Gbomai came home from an American Health Care Executives event in admiration of your accomplishments and boasting about the development work you’ve done in Ethiopia, Kelli! She really connected with you and was eager to speak further about getting involved with GBF. Fast forward 4 months, we are excited to welcome you on board and to introduce you as an advisor to GBF fans and supporters.

Kelli’s input on our case study on our recent trip to Liberia has been invaluable – from intake forms to advice about publishing. Currently, she guides the development of our proposal that is a direct response to our findings in Kolahun, Liberia.

Take it away Kelli!

New adivsor, Kelli Clifton

1. Tell us how you ended up in the nation’s capital and what you’re currently doing here.

Thanks Nichole! I relocated to DC in July of 2010 from Columbus, OH where I was in graduate school and working for The Ohio State University Medical Center. I moved after completing my degree and I now am a healthcare consultant for a firm in DC.

2. How did you get involved with The Gbomai Bestman Foundation and why?

Earlier this year I was attending a professional development function and as I was preparing to leave, I met Gbomai. We initally talked about our careers and I causally mentioned my past experience and interest in international healthcare. Gbomai immediately told me about her vision for GBF and passion for maternal and child health in Liberia. At the time it seemed like an odd coincidence but given our mutual passion, I know it was a divine intervention! There are so many organizations to support and volunteer with in the DMV area but I was truly drawn to GBF because the mission of the organization has the potential to immediately pay it forward by impacting countless number of lives.

3. You are so well traveled and have a wealth of international experience! Tell us how you think GBF fits into the equation fighting maternal and infant mortality in Liberia.

Girls really do run the world! In all seriousness, the issues of reproductive and child health are critically important because more often than not, preventative care and access to timely healthcare can be the defining factors leading to healthy outcomes. According to The Human Rights Center at UC-Berkley, only 45% of Liberian woman have formal education compared to 73% of men. This bears heavily on the frequency and accuracy of information that women receive and their ability to advocate for themselves and their children. The situation is more dire in rural areas outside of Monrovia where health clinics and hospitals are limited and circumstances often require women to wait until the critical hours to receive medical attention. The GBF has a strong potential to change these factors for the positive. Empowering women to understand and have access to beneficial services can change the lives of themselves and ultimately their communities.On a national scale, women in Liberia already have a positive example in female President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Now is the time to bring advocacy to the grassroots level and inspire more women and children to control their health, education and economic future.

4. On our recent trip to Liberia, we asked the younger girls we worked with to draw three things every Liberian girls need. We’d like to know what you think, on a general scale: What 3 things do you think women and girls need to feel empowered and take their health into their own hands?

1) Accurate and consistant education pertaining to personal healthcare
2) Positive sense of self-worth
3) A community or cultural environment that supports female empowerment

You can learn more about Kelli here!

A month ago, we were in Liberia getting to know 79 girls in Kolahun, Lofa County. We conducted a learning case study, with the logistical support of International Rescue Committee Kolahun, to creatively step into the world of adolescent girls and young women in Liberia and discover, through their eyes, why 50% of them will be pregnant before they turn 18. Our tools of choice? Disposable cameras, notebooks, and art supplies!

This evening, we invited everyone to our lounge, “GBF Tales from Liberia,” to preview our footage from the field on Chill.com, a video sharing platform where virtual “audience members” in attendance can interact in real-time during a screening. Our guests got to meet four amazingly bright and vibrant girls who told their stories fearlessly and shared with us their answers to questions like “Who do you trust with your secrets?,” “What is beautiful to you?,” and “What items do you need to be ‘healthy?’”.

It didn’t sit well with any of our guests that one of the girls from our case study will not be attending school this semester. We’re in the works of making this a reality. We’ll update you as plans solidify! In the mean time, we’re in planning gear for our first holiday campaign and working on a proposal that outlines our long term idea to tackle the maternal health and well being of the girls we met in Kolahun.

www.Chill.com, the video sharing platform we used to screen our footage from our recent trip to Liberia.

Now, “Culture of Pregnancy: Liberian Girls” is public for all of GBF supporters to see! View Here!

In the future, we will be screening select footage from special events, trips, and many other things GBF on this platform. We’d love to see more of you at our next screening!