Women Making A Difference - June 6, 2010 - Segment One

Betsy and Renee begin their salute to the winners of the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Women Making A Difference Awards by speaking with caller Janet Halbert, CEO of Hurdle Jumpers and winner of the Volunteer of The Year award. Hurdle Jumpers is a charity that provides comfort kits to cancer patients, as well as patients who are newly diagnosed and about to start chemo/radiation treatment. There are two kits available to patients: a chemo kit and a radiation kit. According to Janet, the patient comfort kits contain the products she needed to help her with dry eyes, dry mouth, and dry skin. Additionally, they private labeled a relaxation CD, bought a humor book, and compiled a collection of Janet’s survival tips to include. Janet started the charity four years ago after she spent a year battling cancer and realized there were no comfort kits, meaning she had to march off to the drug store or ask a friend to do an errand for her every time she suffered a side effect. She decided that when she got well, she was going to make sure there was a kit for every patient going through that experience, so they wouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel like she did during her treatment. By training, Janet is a business consultant and CPA, but she spends about 15 hours a week as a volunteer managing/organizing the program, which is run primarily by volunteers of all ages. The kits are distributed directly to patients through oncology practices or cancer treatment centers, and all over-the-counter products are nationally recognized products donated by consumer health companies who believe in their mission and in doing good corporate community service work. For more information on the work being done by Hurdle Jumpers, visit their website at www.hurdlejumpers.org.

Betsy and Renee also speak with Patricia Gracia, Founder/President of PowerMedia Group and winner of the Rising Star Award. PowerMedia Group is an advertising/PR agency that specializes in all-inclusive Spanish language campaigns. Patricia started the business in 2001 after she finished her degree in public relations at UCLA, with the motivation that she was born to be an entrepreneur and feeling that she needed to set an example for her kids as a woman and a mother. Patricia also notes that there are 45 million Hispanics in the United States currently, but in 2010, they are close to reaching $1 trillion in buying power.

2Minutes&More with Betsy Berkhemer and Renee Fraser airs every Sunday at 1pm on KFWB NEWS TALK 980. Tune in for a full hour of tips for business success.