In 2004, Rhonda felt so sure of the relationship between toxic chemicals and their effect on children’s health she wrote a cookbook explaining the reasons parents should stop microwaving in plastic, feeding tuna to their children and using nonstick cookware. After rejections from numerous publishers, she rethought her approach and began lecturing on the subject at local Connecticut schools. With three children, this was a subject close to her heart and Rhonda found time to work on her venture while her kids were at school.
The cookbook never materialized, but her passion led to Rhonda’s appointment as Vice Chairman of the Executive Board of the Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center in New York. Dr. Phililp Landrigan, a pediatrician and chairman of the department of preventive medicine at Mount Sinai, David Wasserman, a Wall Street executive and CEHC chairman, and Rhonda created the Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center, non profit organization. The CEHC board is now 20 members strong and includes Maria Rodale, Chairman and CEO of Rodale Publishing and Christopher Gavigan CEO of Healthy Child, Healthy World.
In 2008, Rhonda created an annual fundraiser luncheon aptly named “Greening Our Children”, which to date has raised nearly $800,000 in profits for the CEHC. 100% of the proceeds are used for research to discover the links between chemicals such as mercury, BPA and phthalates and learning disabilities, childhood cancers, and breast cancer in young women. Part of the funds were invested in Mt Sinai research projects. Using results, 8 projects were able to receive grants for continued research totaling more that $5 million.
“Ever since I was a child, I’ve had an interest in creating businesses from scratch. Founding the CEHC board and Greening Our Children combines my life long belief in the benefits of chemical free living with my passion for starting businesses. If the money we raise helps to identify the cause of autism or childhood cancer, I’ll feel I’ve contributed to that in some small way.”
Contact: [email protected]
VentureMom Tip
Keep moving forward, if one approach doesn’t work, take a different path, it may lead to bigger rewards.
