Women for a Cause: Interview with Kim MacGregor of IBelieveShesAmazing.com (Part 5)

RR: Besides Erika, who are the women in your life that have influenced you? What have they taught you?

KM: Besides Erika, for sure my mother [has influenced me]. Coincidently, I also lost my mother to colon cancer. I was only 29 and my mom was only 53. She started with breast cancer when she was about 42, and we thought she was clear for 13 years, and then it came back when she was 53 as very advanced stage 4 colon cancer.

My mother was an incredibly amazing woman. She only went to grade eight, but she was self-educated and had a real thirst for learning. Any time I went to my mom and said, “You know, I think I would like to do this or that,” she would say, “Oh my God, you would be so good at that!” She was just the biggest cheerleader and rah-rah person; an amazing influence in my life.

And then I would honestly have to say after my mom would be my three, little girls who truly inspire me every day. They teach me so much about the beauty of the world. They teach me about imagination, unconditional love, creativity, excitement and joy. Just everything that is good and yummy in the world.

RR: Being a mother to three young girls, what do you think is the biggest lesson you can teach them?

KM: To live with passion and to follow their hearts .Whatever it is they choose to do, my husband and I will be happy if they are doing something they are passionate about, and if they follow their heart. Where you are passionate about something, and you love something, then life is a joy; life is a cakewalk. This whole movement that I have created, and has come together magically, has been such an undertaking of passion. And no day feels like work, because there is so much pleasure in doing what I do.

I also want my girls to believe in themselves. To believe they can do anything they want to do; anything they set their mind on, they can achieve. That is the greatest gift they can have.

Photo caption: Kim MacGregor with her daughters Madison, Ava and Elle.

Women for a Cause: Interview with Kim MacGregor of IBelieveShesAmazing.com (Part 4)

RR: How have you been able to deal with all the tragedy you have endured?

KM: When everything happened with my first child (she was born and whisked away at birth, hooked up to tubes and put into an incubator), I had just lost my mother 18 months before and I did do that whole “Why me?” thing. My brother and I had spent six months with my mom at an alternative clinic in the Bahamas, and I learned so much about myself and I evolved spiritually as a person during that time. But here I was at 30, having given birth to this little baby, and I called my brother, who is one of my best friends. I was crying “Why me? I can’t believe this! I lost mommy and now this! Why does all this stuff happen to me?” He listened to me cry, and then he said to me very calmly, “Why not you? Why anybody? Things happen in the world to people all the time. You’re meant to figure out why it has happened to you, and you’re meant to go good with it.” And it changed the way I looked at everything.

When I do my inspirational speaking, I give a speech on turning the emphasis from “Why me?” to “Why?” I think the real growth comes out of “Why has this happened?” and “What growth can come of it? What can I share to other people to ease their burden and ease their pain?” It is really about taking a step back and figuring what it means in the bigger scheme of things. I do believe that I will meet all my loved ones again, in heaven, at some point; I think that makes it a little bit easier. But in the meantime, I think when stuff like that happens, there is work to be done. That makes me feel more at peace to find meaning in those very difficult times.

It was a difficult thing to come to terms with my mother. She was so young and such as amazing person. One thing I learned is that the only person we are responsible for is ourselves. Although all of these losses are so tragic, each person is on their own journey. We are here to learn as much as we can, and facilitate as much as we can. At the end of the day, each journey is so uniquely their own, and I have learned to respect everybody for whatever brought them to wherever they were. If unfortunately, it took people like Erika or my mom, from our lives so early.

We spend so much time wishing things went different, or wishing they hadn’t done this, when in the meantime people are making their own choices all of the time. That is really the way it should be. There is a point when you have to respect the choices they have made - whatever the results are - and it is a difficult place to get to.

RR: What has been the biggest lesson that these trials have taught you?

KM: There is so much love and compassion in the world. That song that John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote “All You Need is Love” is such a beautiful song, and it is so simple. I really think at the end of the day, love really is such an overriding feeling that drives us to do great and wonderful things. If we didn’t have that incredible feeling of love, hardship and joy, then we wouldn’t be able to do the things we do. If you didn’t love your sister the way you love your sister, you certainly wouldn’t have taken on this difficult task of being a solopreneur and stretch yourself in a new way.

Love is really a powerful force. For example, to feel all of that love come back in ripples from people that I don’t know, from this flash mob created in honor of my friend Erika, is a powerful force. You can move mountains with it. To think you reach out across the internet, and you don’t know anybody, and all of a sudden you’re touched by somebody’s life; that is meaningful stuff. It fuels me. It is wonderful.

Stay tuned for part 5.

Photo caption:  Erika Heller with Kim MacGregor's daughters Madison, Ava and Elle.

Women for a Cause: Interview with Kim MacGregor of IBelieveShesAmazing.com (Part 3)

RR: How did your experience in the modeling industry influence you to co-write the book Be...a Woman? What was your purpose for writing the book?

KM: My experience in modeling and acting for most of my life was, as anyone would guess, that is the most subjective industry in the world. I had gone through so many personal experiences: I had lost my mother, my family had gone bankrupt, my parents split up for a year when I was in third grade and I attended five different schools in that one year. Then I had given birth to my first child, who was whisked away and operated on at a day old and diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.Then my marriage went through some major challenges, we had just had twins, and so much had happened in our life and we were just trying to keep our heads above water.

I was still doing modeling and acting, and I still had a full-time career in marketing and sales as well. People have this misconception that because you look a certain way that you are exempt from any hardships in life. It stuck me as so ironic. It struck me as ironic that women on the cover of magazines, and certainly models and actresses that I knew, were these people that everyone was looking up to. And yet in real life, the people that I looked up to and most people I knew looked up to weren’t models; they were not airbrushed images of anyone. They were our mothers and our grandmothers who had those perfect wrinkles on their faces, and those beautiful rugged hands, and those little sneakers that were so worn. They had been around the world and they knew what they were talking about.

Coming up with the book I wanted to create something I couldn’t find myself when I was going through all those things. Be… A Woman was a book that really celebrated womanhood based on characteristics that define who we are. It featured real women in the pictures. The photographer who collaborated with me was a phenomenal photographer, and captured images of real women that depicted the characteristics that we chose. What it meant to be a woman was to be strong, courageous, resilient, generous, loving, and nurturing - all of those things that we need to get us through life. We don’t need to be sexy or hot; those things don’t carry you through life when life rattles your cage. It was a beautiful book, it sold out and we won’t be reprinting unfortunately. It won an international publishing award; we did really well with it.

RR: What do you feel has been your biggest accomplishment thus far?

KM: Honestly, I think that my biggest accomplishment has been my family. I absolutely adore my three children, and every day I give thanks for them. They are just the most incredible people to watch evolve and grow. My oldest daughter is 11, and she is the one that has CF. She is a powerhouse - brilliant, smart, creative, optimistic and she works hard. She has taught me so much in life about determination and believing in oneself. She and I are spokespeople for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and she does motivational speaking with me and she gets standing ovations. She is phenomenal.

My twins are about to turn eight. They are these happy-go-lucky people that embrace everything in life as an adventure; what a gift that is. Although my husband and I went through some very challenging times, we worked through it and grew through it and we are still together. Where I am at now with my family, and my own personal growth, is really my biggest accomplishments. All the rest is just icing.

Stay tuned for Part 4.

Photo caption:  Kim's daughters Elle, Madison, and Ava with Ryan and her friend Erika.

Women for a Cause: Interview with Kim MacGregor of IBelieveShesAmazing.com (Part 2)

RR: What would you like everyone who has watched the video to know?

KM: You hear so much about how much we have to do to be successful or how much we have to do to make a difference in the world. And I think that is overrated. I think the simplest thing we can do is to be kind to one another, and when we feel that someone has made a difference in our life, speak up and tell them.  I don’t think we need to wait for someone to die, or to get a life threatening diagnosis, or to graduate from university, or to get married, or any of those milestone that we pass in life. I think the value comes when we hear those things throughout our life often, and we have a believer, someone who believes in us. 

We often hear people talk about who was the most amazing person in our lives and it is not necessarily an Oprah Winfrey (though she is and fabulously inspiring person).  It is often times a teacher, a mother, a friend, a nurse, a neighbor, or somebody close to us that said something that made a difference in our lives.  I really want people to be aware of that; to tell the people the amazing women in their lives if they think that they’re amazing. Don’t keep it in. There is such a beauty in sharing; not just for the person receiving the compliment but also for the person giving the compliment. 

I truly believe that every single person in the world can make a difference.  I don’t Erika realizes what a difference she made.  My 11 year old daughter still sleeps with a picture of Erika under her pillow.  She made such a profound difference in our lives just by her unconditional love, her spirit, her support, and belief in everything.  Everybody can make a difference in small ways; we don’t have to go and build schools. Those are all benevolent and wonderful things, but we don’t all have to run a multimillion dollar company to make a difference. You can make a difference in these small meaningful ways.

RR: What is your goal for Ibelieveshesamazing.com?

KM:  I would love for the video to be more viral.  We have not done any traditional media yet; it has all been very grass roots.  So far we have had over 37,000 views in just over a month.   I am very proud of that.  I think that once it starts to get picked up more my bloggers and other people like you, we will reach our million. 

We have also been receiving some wonderful recognition from the website.  I am planning to launch I Believe She is Amazing TV, where I hit the streets and talk to people and give them the opportunity to give recognition to an amazing woman.  My long term goal is that I would love to create a foundation to support women and girls initiatives.  There is so much to be done in the world right now with young girls and women all around the world, not just North America.  To have a part in that - investing in the future for empowering young girls and women to go to school or start a business - would be a really wonderful thing to come out of all of this; so it doesn’t just fade away and stays something very meaningful that can continue to touch more people’s lives and ripple out even further.

RR: Your inspirational friend, Erika Heller, who motivated you to begin this movement, what do you think she would think about it if she was here now?

KM:  I think that she would think it was the most incredible thing.  I think she would be so excited to be in the middle of it all, and I think she would be so embracing of every single person that has joined this movement.  Because she was just that person that loved people and she loved to inspire people, so I think she would be very, very honored.  I think it would be a real pleasure for her to know that this was something that was inspired by her…and probably modestly so.

Stay tuned for Part 3.

Photo caption:  IBelieveShesAmazing.com Flash Mob

Women for a Cause: Interview with Kim MacGregor of I Believe She’s Amazing (Part 1)

Former model, actress, author and motivational speaker, Kim MacGregor, lost her mother to Colon Cancer 18 months before giving birth to her first child, who was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis and operated on the first day she was born. Two more babies (twins) and years later, Kim lost her best friend, Erika Heller, to Colon Cancer, which inspired her to start a movement like no other. And what is Kim’s response to all that she has been through? “All you need is love.”

RR: What first inspired you to begin I Believe She’s Amazing?  Why do you feel it is important to recognize the amazing women in our lives?

Madison was a very reserved little girl who was very attached to me and didn’t really take to other people, but she took to Erika so quickly. Within about six months, Erika was coming over to our house. I just had twins and she kept asking if she could come babysit.  And so eventually we just said yes.   It was instant; everybody fell in love. There was a sense that she was part of our family right from the beginning. 

And then unfortunately, at 27 years of age, she was diagnosed with inoperable colon cancer.  And [she] fought the most astounding, brave battle. She was optimistic. She was spirited. She was beautiful, radiant, just a fireball of energy… she continued to be. And the most astounding thing, I think that hit me during the whole four years, from the time she was diagnosed to the time she passed at 31 just last year, at the end of every conversation we shared she would say to me or my children, “I just want you to know I think you’re so amazing because…” It would be because, “you’re a great friend”, “you’re so smart”, “funny” or whatever it was.

RR: How did the idea for the flash mob come about? 

KM: I am a writer and I had written an inspirational women’s gift book that Erika was actually in as well.  And originally the idea for this started in the very late stages of Erika’s life and I originally thought it was something to launch to maybe make her hang on longer; something she could be involved in because she loved being involved and inspiring people so much.  But she was very sick in the end.  I think I mentioned it once, but I am not sure it really registered with her at the time. And so originally it was going to be something that went in hand with the book, and people were going to write in it and talk about an amazing woman they knew.  But that was sort of an initial plan; a little egg that was hatching in my mind.  And then I was commissioned to write a guide book on social media and I didn’t know anything about social media before. I wasn’t on Facebook; although Erika was, and kept encouraging me to get on Facebook.  I wasn’t on Twitter or anything. 

Learning about social media, I met a whole bunch of young up and coming social media gurus.  [They] were talking about the power of social media, the power of the internet, and how the whole world is changing.  How people are really inspired by videos and how videos are so popular.  Then I learned about a flash mob and of course I had no idea what a flash mob was.  After I saw one, I fell in love with it; I got the goosebumply feeling to see all those people dancing. Dance and music are already so inspiring but to see 200 people dance unison was just incredible.  That is when everything changed.  And then I thought this is what I have to do: it has to be a flash mob. 

All my three children dance competitively.  I went to my children’s dance studio and recruited the choreographers, who were more than happy to do it, and recruited 50 core dancers.  The other 150 people heard about it on Facebook and Twitter and joined in just because they believe in this cause.  So we ended up with a fabulous group of 200 people in this wonderful video. We had one two-hour rehearsal for those first 50 kids at the dance studio; but it was a very fast two hours.  The whole 200-person cast rehearsed for six and a half hours on a Saturday; we filmed on the next morning.  It was incredible. 

The choreographers, I take my hat off to them; they were so talented and so committed to it. They did a fabulous job of making it happen.  The only thing that I had asked for was that it was inspiring and uplifting and that I wanted those pictures at the very end. It was delivered beautifully on a silver platter. Everybody volunteered; I didn’t pay a penny for anything.  The four videographers, the choreographers, and the dancers all came for their own sense of passion.

Those simple words had such a profound effect on me and on my children, that I wanted there to be something that continued on after she passed away.  A legacy in honor for her and also for my children to remember how important she was; what a major part of our lives she was.  She was really a mentor to them in so many ways.  And I thought it was such a simple thing, but it had such a profound effect that I thought it was the best way to pay it forward and carry on her legacy after she passed away.

Stay tuned for part two.

Skin Care for a Cause: Interview with Joshua Scott Onysko of Pangea Organics (Part 4)

RR: I have a background in working with nonprofits, and I read a statement from you that nonprofits waste a lot of money in mismanagement. When did you discover this?

JSO: I was living in Southern India and I met all of these people through this nonprofit group. They were on a $150 a day stipends, where I was spending about $9 a day. They were in these groups, funded with millions of dollars, for these kids to go down there and do women’s rights work, but they were only in a town for 10 days. What kind of women’s rights work can you do in 10 days? You’re a tourist. If you want to start a nonprofit to do that, you say, please donate money to this institute so we can send Americans to India so we can educate them on how the rest of the world lives. That would be fine, but it was under the guise of women’s rights work. Then after that, I kept seeing it everywhere. All of these groups were well-funded groups of tourists. Trust me, there are thousands of amazing nonprofits doing great work. Pangea is working with Women for Women International that is doing phenomenal work in countries that are post war conflict. But many of them are wasting millions. Same in the investment community. Your average VC investment is millions of dollars spread around ten companies in hopes one of them makes it big. 97% of cosmetic companies are gone within 12 months.

RR: I love your statement that, “One of the best things about an economy is capitalism. Corporations will generally produce products that we want or ask for.”

JSO: I studied neuro-marketing. The new statistic is that last year, corporations spent 32 billion dollars trying to figure out what we want to buy. We as a culture are always quick to say it’s not our fault. It’s someone else’s fault. It’s the government. It’s the political system. It’s the corporations. In the end, there’s 300 million of us. Figure out what you want the future to look like. People don’t think about what they buy. We’re just starting to understand the impact of what we buy. Prefect example: we go into a recession, and people go to Walmart to stock up on products made overseas by people getting paid next to nothing in horrible conditions.

We invented the ball bearings, yet we don’t make them anymore. Not one ball bearing is made in America anymore. It’s used in every automobile and bike in the world. We outsource it because people aren’t willing to pay for them to be made here anymore. We invented the t-shirt and made it famous, but only 14% are made here anymore. Jeans - forget about it. I think they’re only 20 pairs a year made here. We need to wake up and think about what we do today effects tomorrow. What do we want tomorrow to look like?

RR: Did always know you would be an entrepreneur?

JSO: My mom would tell you I have been since I was seven. I used to go in the woods and look for golf balls and sell them to golfers. Sure.

RR: What has surprised you most about being an entrepreneur?

JSO: The thing that has surprised me most is the impact that a small company, like Pangea, can have on the global community. I spoke at a conference and one of the head designers at Coca-Cola came up to me and said that they’ve had my packaging in their design room for four years. Which is amazing to me. We’re influencing Coca-Cola. I haven’t drank a Coke in I don’t know how long, and we’re influencing them. We’ve influenced one of the largest home cleaning companies in the world with how they are with their consumers. They’re watching what we’re doing. People like you. Maybe we can just change one thing a week. The impact is enormous. Every minute of every one’s day, we have the opportunity to make a better decision. That’s stretches far beyond consumerism. It goes into the authenticity we have with each other.

Our relationships are based on a cumulative count of every interaction we’ve had with that person. So from the first time you meet with somebody to the day you die, every conversation and interaction you’ve had with them is based on the authenticity that you’ve had with them in every instance. For example, if you’re married for 40 years, the conversation you had last night at dinner is literally based on every interaction you’ve had with that person. When people ask why we’re here? We’re here to constantly be improving ourselves. And we do that through improving the world around us, improving our authenticity, improving the value of trust in our relationships and in our life. Only we can make the difference, and the more people that can make those changes, the more people that will see it and say, I want to be that.

Skin Care for a Cause: Interview with Joshua Scott Onysko of Pangea Organics (Part 3)

RR: What would you say your company’s claim to fame is?

JSO: Our claim to fame is that I personally believe that we’re the first organic skin care company that has proven to the world that you can be organic, 100% natural and still have the efficacy, and the things that people are expecting out of skin care. I think that we’ve proven it in every new product we’ve come out with that has over exceeded people’s expectations of skin care. That, for me, is one of the most important things. Because all of the other things we do as a company, like living wage, and supporting women’s cooperative, that’s an extension of who I am. I don’t expect people to buy our product because of that. That’s a bonus. I’m always going to be that way with business. At the end of the day, people buy a $50 Pangea eye cream that needs to get rid of crow’s feet.

RR: Once you come up for an idea for a new product, what is the timeline from start to finish? The fruition of the idea to on the shelf?

JSO: Two years. The facial oil that we designed took two years. I’ve been using oils on my face for ten years. The big misconception is that if I’m using oils, I’m going to get oily. A well designed facial oil will actually stop you from being oily. It’s called Balancing Oil for a reason. We went out on the market and I looked at what everyone else was selling. Well this isn’t going to do anything, and they’re charging like $60 for it. So I took two years to carefully develop and design facial oil that would be extremely balancing. It actually does what it says. I’ve tested it on many oily-skinned people and told them to use the way we say to use it, every day for six weeks, and sure enough, it works. Everything that we make has to work. We don’t put out anything just to put out a new product.

RR: Pangea is sustainable, eco-friendly, and so much more. How did you accomplish all of that?

JSO: Work, work, work. I’m very driven for what my mission is. I believe in what we’re doing 150%. When I wake up in the morning, the things I think about are what the company becomes. My dream was to create a sustainable company from the ground up. What we say internally here is that the fringe predicts the future. If you’re not on the fringe, you’re not going to have a future. So you constantly have to be thinking about what’s the next thing that we can teach the world how to do. Is it living wages? Is it micro financing? Is it new ingredients from a different part of the world? Is it looking at different packaging? I think we’re the first cosmetic company I’ve ever seen that focus on the efficacy and responsibility on an environmental level of packaging the way we do. No one ever knows why our bottles are brown. Light destroys the medicinal ingredients in 48 hours, so why are you buying clear, glass bottles? Our packaging is 100% zero waste, and you can plant it, and it grows a tree. These are things we should be doing. Not just us, but everyone.

RR: What is next for Pangea?

JSO: We’re just going to keep doing what we do best. Putting out highly, efficacious skin care with all the social and environmental standards behind the company.

RR: Tell me more about the Pangea Institute? Is it finished?

JSO: No, this is a 2012 project. The Institute is a living, breathing organization that will basically take the principals we’ve built into Pangea, and teach other people how to do it in their own business. Let’s say you wanted to start a jewelry company. We’re going to show you how to do it, but with the social and environmental principals that Pangea has. From A to Z.

Stay tuned for part 4.

Skin Care for a Cause: Interview with Joshua Scott Onysko of Pangea Organics (Part 2)

RR: Many products claim to be organic, but are not. What should consumers be looking for in the ingredients?

JSO: If there is an ingredient that you can’t pronounce, or if they need to use a number to explain what it is, it’s probably not organic. And if you wouldn’t eat it, it’s probably not organic.

RR: What would you say are the most dangerous ingredients in personal care products and why are they dangerous?

JSO: The ones everyone knows about like parabens, but they’re a lot of ingredients people don’t know about like DETs, DEAs and anything with formaldehyde. What people don’t understand is formaldehyde and formaldehyde donors aren’t called formaldehyde. Parabens are a very common preservative used in the personal care industry, but it’s also a precursor for formaldehyde. So when you talk about the most dangerous, they’re all dangerous. Chemicals are chemicals, and many of them are untested. Out of 120,000 chemicals being used between home care and personal care products, only 10% of them have been tested for safety, and none of them have ever been tested when used with other ingredients. The average consumer believes that anything that has a bar code that is sold, is safe. The cosmetic industry is completely and utterly unregulated. There’s nobody checking products at all. No FDA. People always think, “well the FDA...” The FDA hasn’t given us safe food or drugs or skin care. Look what we eat every day.

RR: What do you think sets you apart from the other skin care companies that claim to be organic and natural?

JSO: We actually are. It pretty much comes down to that. Don’t get me wrong. There’s a few other companies that are doing it right…maybe three.

RR: What are some great skin care tips?

JSO: I think for most people that have skin problems, it’s internal. You are what you eat. And it’s not what people used to think: if you eat French fries, you’ll break out. It’s deeper than that. It’s health, it’s nutrition. We need to alkalize our bodies, and stop eating so many acidic foods. We need to eat more vegetables, we need to cook our food less. The American culture, since the 1950s, has boiled their food. People should know the more you boil you food, the less vitamins you are getting. Vitamins are water soluble; you’re pouring them down the drain. I haven’t used a microwave in over 14 years. It’s really about self-educating. We really need to think about the things we’re buying and putting in our bodies and feeding our children.

As far as skin health, the more important things are to cleanse, tone and moisturize in the morning. At night, cleanse and let your skin rest and breathe. Also, stress levels are enormous when it comes to the skin.

Skin Care for a Cause: Interview with Joshua Scott Onysko of Pangea Organics (Part 1)

I have been fascinated with cosmetics and skin care since my days as a make-up artist at Nordstrom. I love trying new products; spraying perfume on myself, and rubbing scented body lotion all over my skin was a daily ritual. Not to mention the medication I was taking, and skin care I was using from my dermatologist to get rid of my acne. I didn't have a clue that any of those products were hazardous to my health; it didn't even occur to me.

That was years ago, and since then I have emersed myself in learning about health - inside and out. Last year, I "greened" my home by replacing all of my toxic home and personal care products with non-toxic alternatives. That is how I discovered Pangea Organics, an award-winning, completely sustainable and organic skin care company. After reading one of their newsletters written by their founder, Joshua Scott Onysko, I was inspired to give him a call. And what a fascinating call that was...

RR: Why did you start Pangea?

JSO: I started Pangea to fund the Pangea Institute, act as a role model for the corporate world, and to prove to the world that you can do business socially and sustainably much more than the world is used to, and still be profitable. The Institute is aimed at improving the social environmental sustainability of corporations.

RR: I didn’t realize that you had the idea of the Institute before the idea for the company?

JSO: It actually came the year beforehand.

RR: How did you then decide to start the company? How did you get interested in body care products?

JSO: I made a batch of soap from a book with my mom right before I moved to Bombay. It was the first time I really played with essential oils and herbal extracts, and after traveling through the world, mostly Asia for two years, I kind of had this epiphany of alchemy. Alchemy has many different definitions. A lot of people think it’s turning lead into gold. The reality is alchemy is chemistry, but only using nature. I realized that I was really good at understanding what plants had to offer.

The thing that kept going through my head is that the longest clinical trial in the world is evolution. So if you look around the world, there’s plants that are extremely medicinal. Anywhere you go in the world, all around us, there’s plants that can heal us, and these plants are evolving over millions of years. So why aren’t we focusing on using the plants medicinally – topically and internally?

There’s definitely a movement for homeopathy and pharmaceutical-type products, but I started looking at the skin care industry and realized how toxic it was. Your skin is your largest organ, and absorbs over 80% of what you put on it, and if your average consumer goes into their medicine cabinet right now, there’s about 20 carcinogens in every bottle that people are smearing all over themselves and their children. It’s literally absorbing right into your body.
I started using alchemy, essential oils, herbology and aromatology that were more efficacious than what people were using from their drugstore, pharmacy or department store, but 100% natural. Not “natural” as in what you buy at the co-op or health food store, but 100% natural meaning you can go into a Whole Foods and buy every ingredient that we make our products with. Yet they are shelf-stable, and highly efficacious. Our products are used in 12 different countries, and have won several awards. This is my way of proving to the world that you can use nature and get the same results - better results - than using a chemical brand.

RR: Why should we be using organic products?

JSO: It’s a multi-tiered question. It’s clinically proven that organic ingredients have 40% more antioxidants than conventional ones. Why that’s important, is the only way to stop premature aging is to use as many anti-inflammatory and antioxidants ingredients on your skin as you can. So if you’re going to be using skin care, you should be using organic because it’s more efficacious. I’m a big supporter of organic. We outlawed DDT in 1972, a harsh pesticide, yet we still produce it and are the largest producer of it in the world. We sell it to all of these developing countries that grow food for us, and then we buy that food back. It’s very fascinating.

Stay tuned for part two.

Becky Lavelle of Jenny’s Light Interview (Part 4)

To read parts 1, 2 and 3 of the interview, click here.

RR: Because Jenny had such a severe case of postpartum depression, do you worry about having a baby?
BL: I do a little, but I am obviously much more aware of what can happen and will have a very heightened sense of awareness, as will my family and friends.

RR: The grieving process is very complicated. What surprised you most about grief?
BL: The second year has been harder than the first. Last year seemed almost surreal, now the reality is setting in a little more.

RR: How have you changed since Jenny’s and Graham’s deaths? How has your family changed?
BL: I am definitely more emotional with many things, but also more open and more grateful for the things I have and the life I am living. I’ve learned to not take anything for granted, to truly “live” each day, and not be afraid to be happy. I sometimes say to myself, “What would Jenny do?” and I try to honor her by doing things she and I both loved to do, or going out of my way to help out a stranger, or smiling at a random person on the street, petting a stray cat, buying something because “I like it”, etc. I think my family has become closer, we talk on the phone more often, I try to see them as much as I can and they come out to California as much as they can. We all grieve in different ways and it’s sometimes hard to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, but we all try to be understanding and lean on each other.

RR: What do you miss most about Jenny and Graham?
BL: Jenny’s laugh, her smile, talking to her every day, sharing my day-to-day activities with her, and just knowing that she’s always there for me. She still is now, but in spirit, and I know she will always be looking out for me. Graham was such an adorable little thing; he made the cutest little noises and was just so sweet.

RR: What do you want people to know about Jenny?
BL: She had such a big heart and a big smile and she was the most genuine person I know.

For more information on Jenny's Light, go to http://www.jennyslight.org/.

Photo caption: (From left) Becky Lavelle, Brian Lavelle, Chip Bankston and Jenny Gibbs Bankston.

Becky Lavelle of Jenny’s Light Interview (Part 3)

To read parts 1 and 2 of the interview, click here.

RR: How did you get into triathlons?
BL: I swam competitively since I was 10, got a scholarship to swim at LSU and knew I was done swimming after college but still wanted to compete and stay fit, so triathlon was the perfect thing. My brother Randy signed me up for a local race in 1995 and I never looked back from that!

RR: What do you like most about triathlons?
BL: I love being fit, traveling all over the world to compete, and I love the challenge of it; it’s always evolving and I’m always finding things I can work on or improve. And the fact that my husband also trains and races professionally makes it that much more enjoyable.

RR: What is an average day like for you when you’re training?
BL: Up at 5:20am, swim from 6-7:30am, breakfast, work on the computer for a few hours doing e-mails, Jenny’s Light, booking travel, keeping in touch with sponsors, updating my Web site, etc.. Then 1-1.5 hour run midday (or a 2-3 hour ride in the late afternoon with a 3 mile run off the bike), lunch, sneak a 30 min nap in if I can, run errands (groceries, plan meals, etc.), cook dinner (I love to cook!), do some more computer work, watch a little TV with Brian or read a magazine and pass out!

RR: You had one of your best racing years last year. How is that possible after going through such a horrific tragedy?
BL: I have to attribute much of my strength to Jenny and the fact that I wanted to make her proud. She would have wanted me to go on and be successful (and especially make the Olympic Team!). I also felt like I was racing for a greater cause; I knew success would also help the foundation and in turn help spread awareness of PPD and hopefully help save lives.

RR: How do you find balance between competing, Jenny’s Light and your personal life?
BL: It’s tough and I struggle with it from time to time, feeling like I’m overwhelmed with too much on my plate! But thank God I have Brian; he is so great at making me feel better and putting things in perspective. He’s my rock. I sometimes have to take a deep breath, step back, and remember the most important things in life are your health and your family.

Stay tuned for part 4 of the interview.

Photo caption: Becky doing a triathlon in Alcatraz in 2008.

Becky Lavelle of Jenny’s Light Interview (Part 2)

To read part 1 of the interview, click here.

RR: Why did your family want to start a nonprofit?
BL: We were so shocked by our loss and realized later how little we knew about PPD; there was just not enough awareness about it and it made us think that there had to be thousands of other people who were in the same boat. We did not want this type of tragedy to happen to anyone else.

RR: You started Jenny’s Light not long after Jenny’s death. How were you able to do that so quickly?
BL: I think it helped in our grieving, and it gave us something to focus our energy on and helped us make something positive out of something so devastating. It was nice to know we were helping people and saving lives.

RR: Jenny’s Light is one of the fastest growing nonprofits that I’ve seen. What do you attribute to the success of it?
BL: A big part of the success of Jenny’s Light is a direct reflection of the impact Jenny made on so many people; it just shows how many people she touched and how many people loved and cared about her. Our Board of Directors has also worked hard to make it a success - especially my brother Randy who spearheaded a lot of the efforts in getting the Web site up and running, full of content, and always up to date. I think my presence in the triathlon community and the success I had racing last year made it possible to reach a much broader audience and really positively impacted the foundation. Facebook has also been a great vehicle to get people involved in our cause; we have over 5,000 members and have raised over $10,000 through our fan page!

Stay tuned for Part 3 of the interview.

Photo caption: Becky (left) with Jenny and Graham in 2007.

Becky Lavelle of Jenny’s Light Interview (Part 1)

I first read about Jenny’s Light, an organization whose mission it is to improve and save lives by increasing awareness of all perinatal mood disorders including postpartum depression, from an article in the October 2008 issue of Glamour Magazine. The nonprofit was started (and named for) in the memory of Jennifer Gibbs Bankston, who after giving birth to her son Graham, suffered from postpartum depression, took her seven week old son’s life and then her own just days before Christmas in 2007.

I was surprised to find how much I had in common with Jenny’s twin sister (and one of the founders of the organization) Becky Lavelle. Becky and I are both runners (she’s a professional triathlete and 2008 Olympic Games alternate with the body to show for it, and I run marathons as a hobby when I feel like it), we were born 21 days apart (December babies), have mothers named Sandy, both live in Northern California, were married a year apart and tragically lost our sisters a year apart.

I know how helpful it has been for me to talk to others that have lost siblings and to share my sister’s story, so I contacted Becky and asked if she would be willing to share hers.

Ramona Russell: What was it like growing up as a twin?
Becky Lavelle: It was always like having a best friend. We did everything together, dressed alike most of the time (at least until junior high), had the same friends, did the same sports and activities, etc.

RR: How were you and Jenny alike and how were you different?
BL: We never thought we looked much alike but people had a hard time telling us apart when we were young. Our voices sounded almost identical, but our personalities were quite different. Jenny was always the more outgoing, extroverted, type-A one (although I usually did the planning, talking on the phone with our friends), she seemed to make people laugh a lot more than I did, she had this uniqueness about her unlike anyone I will probably ever know. Our family and friends always used to say “That’s just Jenny!” For example, if the whole family is up playing games at the cabin and it’s about 9pm and she’s tired, she just goes to bed! She was never afraid to do her own thing and was never really concerned about what other people might think. I was the more introverted, shy one (even though I was 16 minutes older too), laid back and mellow you could say, but more competitive in nature.

RR: Describe Jenny.
BL: Beautiful, caring, funny, charismatic, athletic, creative, intelligent, kind…she had a way of making people always feel comfortable around her and like they had known her forever. She also loved animals and always walked up to pet other dogs and talk to their owners. She LOVED to shop… it was truly her passion! I would shop with her but let her go through all the racks and she could always pick out the really cute stuff for us. She had such a great sense of style. And she loved home decor… she always wanted to be an interior designer and she would have been an amazing one! She was also very artistic and made numerous watercolors and canvas paintings, pillows, lamp shades… she was just always full of great creative ideas! She helped many of her friends with flower arrangements for their weddings and decorating rooms in their homes. She was always fun to be around, could light up a room, and just her presence drew attention and admiration. I was also always amazed at how friendly she was to random people, store clerks, waitresses, etc. She had so much patience with them and wasn’t afraid to strike up conversation with them.

RR: What signs did you see (if any) regarding Jenny’s postpartum depression?
BL: Jenny never spoke to us about how she really felt. The only outward signs we saw, looking back, were more frequent crying, trouble breast feeding (which can contribute to PPD), lack of sleep (she was definitely a sleeper and loved to take naps), she also did seem to lose the baby weight really quickly (she has always been thin though). We thought all of these things were part of being a new mom and adjusting to motherhood and having to care for a baby.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the interview.

Photo caption: Becky (left) and Jenny at Thanksgiving in 2006.