Women of the world – Part three

Welcome to the third post in celebration of International Women’s Day, which was on March 8. We asked women around Cook, worldwide, to share their individual stories about their careers, community involvement, and life adventures. We received so many responses that a team of writers was deployed to collect the stories and we had to divide them up into multiple blog posts. This is the third post in a series of four.

Today’s post includes stories about giving back to the community.

Walking with purpose – Elaine Anderson
Joining community through service – Sara Batman
Grief support for our furry family members – Natalie Crohn
Walking with purpose – Jeanette Doheny
Speaking for those who can’t speak for themselves – Angi Dowell
Finding “me time” means helping others – Marsha Lovejoy
Running for Rhea – Marie Cronin

Please let us know about your own career, travel, and volunteer highlights in the comment section below!

Walking with purpose

Elaine Anderson, Cook events coordinator, did her first Buddy Walk in 2008 to support her sister Rosalie and Rosalie’s daughter, Hannah, who has Down Syndrome. The money raised through the Buddy Walk helps with education and awareness, support for the families with special needs children, and even emergency help paying utility bills, food, or gas cards for families traveling back and forth to Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis.

“I remember, during the event, feeling like I was a part of a new community—the special needs community,” Elaine recalled. “We hoped that this little event would make a difference in the lives of the special needs community, and that they would feel loved and appreciated. We knew it was important to the few families that were involved. It mattered to us and the kids we loved and wanted to support!”

The Buddy Walk has become one of the annual highlights for the Down Syndrome Family Connection (DSFC), which Rosalie founded in Bloomington in 2006. “We kind of started out blindly, not knowing how it would take off, if it would be something that would continue,” Elaine said. “But we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary this year. It has grown into a large event.”

For Elaine, the most important aspect of the Buddy Walk and all the work being done by the DSFC is to raise community awareness about the special needs community.

“We all need ways to feel recognized and appreciated, for each of us to be celebrated,” she said. “Much of my extra time is now spent helping to encourage people with special needs—and in return—I am blessed and encouraged by them!”

Joining community through service

After graduating from Purdue University with a degree in engineering, Sara Batman (Peripheral Intervention product manager) accepted a job at Cook. New to Bloomington, she wanted to find a way to get involved in her church and community.

So, for the past four years, she has been a member of the United Methodist women’s group at the First Methodist Church in Bloomington. She has served as vice president for the past three years. The group plans quarterly events that are relevant to what’s happening in the world. “Many of our events center on women and children, such as issues surrounding human trafficking and immigration policies,” Sara said.

For the past two years, the group has hosted interfaith meetings with women from the Beth Shalom congregation and the Islamic Center of Bloomington. “We really learn from each other,” she said. “Childcare is provided, so it gives women an opportunity to spend time with each other.”

A program last fall on the global immigration crisis garnered intense interest and media coverage. “We gathered a panel of experts from activist networks and the IU faculty to talk about the true state of the refugee crisis and not just what is heard on the news or from politicians,” Sara said. “Our meetings are usually closed to the public, but we decided to open this one up.”

That decision had an unexpected consequence. Unknown to the group, an anti-immigration blog post advertised the meeting, and several members of that community attended the event, which unfortunately ended in confrontation. The story was covered in the local newspaper.

“This was really different for us. These events are usually only attended by members of the church,” she said. “But, as uncomfortable as the situation was, it ended up being really good exposure for an educational event.”

Sara is grateful to have found the United Methodist Women’s Group. “It’s definitely allowed me more exposure to events and activism in the community and seeing all the cool things that go on here.”

Grief support for our furry family members

Natalie Crohn is an avid animal lover. In addition to her job as a project manager at Cook Pharmica, she is also a licensed social worker who is certified in pet loss and grief. A few years ago, Natalie discovered that the Bloomington community was lacking support for people who were having a difficult time with the loss of a pet.

“For many pet parents, when we have pets in our lives they become a part of the family, just like children,” Natalie said. “Our pets are involved in many family activities throughout the years as they are a part of our lives. When the time comes to say goodbye to our furry friends, the grief individuals experience can be much like the grief we experience when our human loved ones pass away.”

She collaborated with Arlington Heights Veterinary Hospital to start Heel to Heal Pet Loss Support Group.

“I wanted to provide an avenue and a safe place that pet parents could gather regularly that was free of charge to attend and allow them to discuss their experience,” Natalie said. “In addition, I want to help them understand that they are not alone in their feelings they experience and that the loss of a pet can be very difficult emotionally.” The group meets the second Wednesday of every month from 6:00 to 7:00 pm at the Better Day Club at 1240 East Miller Drive.

Toy story

Jeanette Doheny is a district manager for Critical Care covering Michigan and Toledo, Ohio. She has been volunteering with the Bottomless Toy Chest (BTC) for three years.

The BTC is a nonprofit organization devoted to delivering items, such as art projects, crafts, and interactive games to hospitalized pediatric cancer patients. Each item is brand new, gift wrapped in cellophane and ribbon, and hand delivered to patients. The cellophane wrap keeps the items clean and safe for children with weakened immune systems.

The BTC organization, which is currently present in Michigan, Georgia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, will deliver over 30,000 toys and activities this year. They also present the parents with gift cards to restaurants near the hospital.

“Though I have years of experience selling products to hospitals, I had always wanted to contribute in a way that would help put a smile on patients’ faces, so I joined the BTC,” Jeanette said.

Because of Jeanette’s experience with hospital networks, the BTC asked her to sit on its advisory board to help them make new contacts. Currently, every hospital in Michigan with a pediatric cancer center is receiving donations from the BTC.

Jeanette also spends her weekends delivering toys to children in hospitals. “Delivering toys to the children in the hospital is like getting to be Santa Claus. The children get so excited to open the gifts in clear bins with ribbons and bows,” Jeanette said.

Speaking for those who can’t speak for themselves

Angi Dowell is a woman of many trades. Before she began working as a research scientist at Cook Research Incorporated, she worked as an inspector and packer at a plastics factory, a veterinary tech, and a lab technician at a holistic health clinic. Angi has also painted water towers and worked in animal husbandry, including cleaning the stalls at the Purdue Large animal teaching hospital. Above all of these jobs, she cherishes being a mom and a Sunday school teacher. Since starting at CRI eleven years ago, she quickly fell in love with her position at Cook and has made it her career.

“Through Cook, I am able to feed my insatiable appetite for learning new things, specifically in the healthcare field,” Angi said. “I started out with an interest in medicine and a passion for animals when I came to Cook. I had the pleasure of participating in planning phases for several studies that involved testing my prototypes in animals, and I say pleasure because I was able to experience firsthand how diligently folks at Cook care for the wellbeing of the animals through the studies.”

Angi’s passion for animals started at a young age. She grew up on a hobby farm and all of their livestock were treated as pets. From a young age she befriended feral cats, stray dogs, chickens, ducks, and goats. “I had a strong connection to these animals in my life. I had a very eccentric style, so I didn’t connect well with my peers,” Angi said.

Her connection to these animals grew into a passion for animal welfare. Angi became a vegetarian at the age of 13 and in high school she joined the Animal Defense League at Ball State University. While attending Purdue she was active in Students in Defense of Animals. She gave up on animal rights activism after being president of the group.  “Through those groups, I participated in some advocacy for animal welfare, particularly against the treatment of circus animals and breeding mills. The more enjoyable activism was through volunteering at rescue centers, which housed several retired circus animals, and at shelters for adoptable pets,” Angi said. “In retrospect, I would classify the why of my activism as compassion for the voiceless and innocent.”

Finding “me time” means helping others

Marsha Lovejoy, global manager of external corporate communications for Cook Medical, was looking for a way to contribute to making the world a better place when she heard about “Support the Girls.” The national organization provides bras and feminine hygiene products to homeless shelters and food pantries in communities throughout the U.S. Their mission spoke to Marsha, who wanted to do something to empower other women.

“Between being a mom to my two young kids and being busy at work, last year I realized that I wasn’t doing anything for me. When I heard about Support the Girls, I knew it was just the me time I needed, ” she said. “I believe that empowered women empower other women. Support the Girls is my little way of doing that. Support the Girls has also been an amazing way for my husband and I to teach our kids about kindness. My four-year-old daughter counts bras and my one-year-old son puts tampons in boxes. I’m sure my son will love seeing the pictures in high school!”

Since she began seeking donations in Bloomington last year, Marsha has been overwhelmed at the response. She far exceeded her goal of 50 bras and 300 feminine hygiene products – at latest count she had collected 453 bras and 8,799 feminine hygiene products. Marsha says that donations go to the Shalom Community Center and other shelters and food pantries throughout the Bloomington, Indiana, area.

Running for Rhea

Last year, Cook Ireland committed to being the title sponsor for the Limerick Women’s Mini Marathon for the next three years. Over 100 employees from Cook in Limerick joined nearly 3,000 women from the midwest of Ireland to take part in the Cook Medical Women’s Mini Marathon, which took place at the University of Limerick in October 2016. This popular event raises significant funds for regional charities and organizations and has a long history of success in supporting local causes.

Marie Cronin, who works in the packaging department at Cook Ireland, took part in the mini marathon for a very special reason – in memory of her beautiful grand-daughter Rhea, who was stillborn on April 16, 2016.

Marie decided to complete the race for Féileacáin, a stillbirth and neonatal death association of Ireland. “Féileacáin,” which is the Irish word for “butterfly,” is a charity close to her heart. The organization helped her family during a heart-breaking time, as they came to terms with the loss of little Rhea. Marie, who marks 10 years of service with Cook this year, was joined by her friends and colleagues Ann Marie Jennings, Josephine Bridgeman, Kate Lawlor, Jane McMahon, Valerie O’Dwyer, Barbara Collins, Pauline Lyons, and Emer O’Grady. The women trained together in the weeks up to the event and completed the 10k run together, raising much-needed funds for the charity.

Marie’s son Emmett and his partner Fiona raised a total of 7,600 Euros for Féileacáin, €1,700 of which was raised by Marie and her friends and colleagues at Cook Medical. These funds went toward supporting bereaved families who have experienced stillbirth or neonatal death in Ireland.

Writers Jon Hancuff, Valda Hillery, Ashley E. Jones, Debbie O’Leary, Bill Stephenson, and Jana Wilson teamed up to collect, compile, and edit these stories. A special thank you to all the women who stepped forward with their stories or who let us know about a co-worker with an interesting story. #goteamcook