Feel Good Friday - International Menopause Society

Did you know tomorrow is World Menopause Day? Neither did I. Now that we do, let’s learn more about the organization that founded it, the International Menopause Society.

Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Truro, England, the mission of International Menopause Society (IMS) is “to work globally to promote and support access to best practice health care for women through their menopause transition and post-reproductive years, enabling them to achieve optimal health and well-being.”

Given that the vision of IMS is, in part, “that all women across the world will have easy and equitable access to evidence-based knowledge and health care”, it’s no surprise that the menopause info section of the website is extensive. 

For people who want to learn more about menopause, there are fact sheets on topics such as symptoms, sleep and hormone therapy provided in multiple languages. The fact sheet on cardiovascular disease is available in English, Bangla, Chinese, Croatian, Dutch, French, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Malaysian, Mongolian, Portuguese, Spanish, Taiwanese and Turkish! If you don’t feel like reading you can check out the selection of videos and podcasts with leading experts from around the world.

These experts make up a network of IMS members who collaborate and share knowledge about all aspects of aging in women and advocate evidence-based treatment options that optimize mid-life women’s health and promote best practice in women’s health care. The professional resources section of the website has information to help healthcare providers maintain these high standards.

In addition, IMS founded World Menopause Day in 2009 to raise awareness of menopause and improve the experience of women around the world. Each year on October 18th, IMS highlights challenges faced by women during menopause and advancements in research, education and support. In 2025, the focus is on how lifestyle medicine, such as healthy eating, physical activity and healthy relationships, can ease menopausal symptoms, reduce chronic-disease risk and support women’s long-term health. You can view and download as many of the lifestyle medicine fact sheets as you’d like as well as register for online educational events.

If you work in this field, you can find and join your local affiliated menopause society. If you’d like to support the work of IMS you can make a donation to the Endowment for Education and Research. To help the women in your life learn about this valuable resource, spread the word on social media. Follow the International Menopause Society on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn and subscribe to their YouTube channel.

Feel Good Friday - NDN Collective

Monday is Indigenous Peoples' Day in the United States and a perfect time to learn about today’s Feel Good Friday organization, NDN Collective.

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota on Oceti Sakowin Territory, NDN Collective is “an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power.” Their mission is to “build the collective power of Indigenous Peoples, communities, and Nations to exercise our inherent right to self-determination, while fostering a world that is built on a foundation of justice and equity for all people and Mother Earth.” 

The actions they take to create sustainable solutions include “organizing, activism, philanthropy, grantmaking, capacity-building and narrative change.” This one-minute video manifesto encourages people to come not from a place of fear, but from a place of power to do this work.

Grants are awarded to Indigenous-led organizations, Tribes, groups, projects and individuals whose work, goals and intentions align with the NDN mission, values, core principles and strategies. Examples include the Radical Imagination Arts Grant which provides resources to visual and performance artists, filmmakers, writers and storytellers; the Community Action Fund which supports direct actions and organizing efforts; and the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities grant which will deploy $600 Million to disadvantaged communities across the country.

NDN Collective also has a lending an impact investing arm called NDN Fund which works to increase Indigenous Peoples’ access to capital by providing loans to Native Nations, Tribal Enterprises, Native nonprofits, and Native-owned businesses.

Other work being done by NDN includes leading campaigns such as stopping mining in the Black Hills, returning public lands back to the Lakota, and freeing Native American activist Leonard Peltier, and community development projects to build affordable housing and share know your rights information.

If you’d like to help NDN Collective achieve their mission, there are many ways to do so. Take an action like joining a campaign, or getting involved in creative resistance. You can also show your support by shopping for merch, making a donation and spreading the word on social media. Follow NDN Collective on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky or LinkedIn and subscribe to their YouTube channel.

Feel Good Friday - Roots & Shoots

As you’ve likely heard, Dr. Jane Goodall passed away this week at the age of 91. To honor her memory, today’s Feel Good Friday is highlighting the organization Roots & Shoots.

I first profiled Roots & Shoots in celebration of her 80th birthday in April, 2014. Time for a refresh on the organization and what they’ve accomplished.

Roots & Shoots is the Jane Goodall Institute's youth program. It began in Tanzania in 1991 when a group of teenagers approached Dr. Jane about concerns for their community and she encouraged them to take action. Inspired by their work, she shared their stories and Roots & Shoots chapters started to spread around the globe. This one-minute video explains the origin story and current state.

The mission of Roots & Shoots is “to empower young people to affect positive change in their communities.” Local chapters focus on projects that benefit the environment and improve the lives of people and animals. Examples of these youth-led projects include providing habitats for native pollinators such as monarch butterflies and rusty patched bumble bees, recycling used printer cartridges, and No Waste November, which encourages people to “mindfully notice and reduce daily waste”.

In 2024, there were 10,000 active groups in all 50 states and more than 75 other countries. In this one year alone 1,745,000 young people took part in programs and recorded over 420,000 hours of activities.

As they state on the website, by encouraging youth around the globe to use their voices and actions to help people, other animals, and the environment we share, “We are nurturing the compassionate leaders of tomorrow.” What a wonderful legacy for a wonderful human being.

If you’d like to get involved with Roots & Shoots and are under 16 years of age, you can become a member and create a project in your neighborhood or get started with some of these 1-click actions. 

The rest of us can support the work of Roots & Shoots by shopping for merch, making a donation to the Jane Goodall Institute and amplifying this work on social media. Sign up for the mailing list or follow Roots & Shoots on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to their YouTube channel.