Health and Wellness – explore the various opportunities for awareness and advancement in nutrition, disease prevention, and physical and emotional care.
Latest Initiatives
- ❤️ February Is American Heart Month: Why It Matters & How to Improve Your Heart Health
Each February, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) marks American Heart Month—a national campaign to raise awareness about heart disease and encourage people of all ages to take action for better heart health. Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, but the good news is that much of it is preventable with heart-healthy habits.
🩺 What Is American Heart Month?
American Heart Month is a time to focus on priorities that support cardiovascular wellness and to learn ways we can protect our hearts. It’s also home to National Wear Red Day®, held on the first Friday in February, when people across the country wear red to show support for heart health awareness and to highlight that heart disease affects everyone—especially women.
The NIH offers downloadable social graphics, posters, and other outreach resources to help spread the word about heart disease prevention throughout the month and beyond.
👟 Heart-Healthy Habits to Start This Month (and Keep Year-Round)
Here are practical, science-backed ways to improve your heart health:
🥗 1. Choose a Heart-Healthy Diet
Eating well is one of the most effective ways to protect your heart. Focus on:
- Fruits & vegetables — rich in antioxidants and fiber
- Whole grains — help maintain healthy cholesterol
- Lean proteins and healthy fats (like nuts, seeds, olive oil, and fatty fish high in omega-3s)
- Reducing saturated fat, sodium, added sugars, and processed foods
Balanced nutrition supports healthy blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight—all key factors in preventing heart disease.
🏃♂️ 2. Move Your Body Regularly
Physical activity strengthens the heart and improves circulation. Aim for:
- At least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week
(You can break this into 30-minute sessions most days.) - Simple activities like brisk walking, cycling, dancing, or swimming count too!
Even small bursts of movement throughout the day benefit your heart, especially if you have a sedentary routine.
🩺 3. Get Routine Health Screenings
Regular checkups help you track important metrics like:
- Blood pressure
- Cholesterol
- Blood sugar
Early detection of high readings gives you the best chance to intervene before serious problems develop.
💤 4. Prioritize Sleep & Stress Management
Quality sleep and stress relief aren’t luxuries—they’re heart protectors:
- Aim for 7–9 hours of sleep per night
- Try mindfulness, meditation, or gentle stretching to reduce stress
Stress can raise blood pressure and increase inflammation, so managing it can support long-term heart health.
🚭 5. Quit Smoking & Limit Alcohol
Tobacco use is a major risk factor for heart disease. Quitting smoking improves your heart health almost immediately and lowers your long-term risk. It’s also wise to limit alcohol intake to recommended levels.
💬 Heart Month Isn’t Just About One Day
Wearing red on National Wear Red Day® is a powerful visual reminder that heart disease affects all of us—but it’s the daily habits that make the biggest difference. Whether you’re adopting better food choices, staying active, checking your health numbers, or managing stress, each step counts.
American Heart Month offers a chance to pause, learn, and take intentional steps toward a healthier heart. Share what you’re doing on social media with #OurHearts and inspire others to care for their hearts too.
Your heart works tirelessly for you—this February, let’s work for it. ❤️
- Children’s Hunger Project Lunch Packing Event at Riverside
Celebrating CBWC Women’s Service at Sunday packing event at Riverside Presbyterian Church
Today, we are proud to celebrate the amazing women of the Cocoa Beach Women’s Club who gave their time and energy to make a difference in our community. At Riverside Presbyterian Church in Cocoa Beach, these dedicated volunteers joined together again to pack lunches for The Children’s Hunger Project — ensuring local children in need have nutritious meals to take home.
A heartfelt thank you to each woman who showed up today. Your service is a shining example of the CBWC mission in action, and your kindness will ripple far beyond the walls of the event.
Together, we make a difference. 💙
- November General Meeting – Guest Sherri Mahaffey
What a wonderful morning at our November general meeting! The room was beautifully decorated, the fellowship was warm, and we had the pleasure of hosting a truly special guest: Sherry Mahaffey (Community Paramedic for the Cocoa Beach Fire Department).
Special Guest: Sherry Mahaffey
We were honored to welcome Sherry Mahaffey as our guest speaker. As the lead of the Community Paramedic Program for the Cocoa Beach Fire Department, Sherry brings decades of experience — starting as a volunteer firefighter in 1988, becoming a medic, and, after a 34-year fire-service career, stepping into the community paramedic role.
In her presentation she:
- Shared the mission of the Community Paramedic Program: providing in-home wellness checks, health and safety screenings, daily-living support, and equipment/resource connections especially for our elderly and mobility-limited neighbors.
- Offered poignant anecdotes of how a simple call, home-visit or resource referral made all the difference: preventing unnecessary hospitalizations, reducing isolation, and strengthening community bonds.
Members were visibly moved — many remarked how aligned this work is with our club’s values of service, compassion and community uplift. Lots of questions asking about volunteering.
The club also collected food for Matthew’s Hope (127lbs). Many had shipped via Amazon directly, some members left after the meeting and purchased more supplies, directly dropping them off. Others generously donated over $1000 in cash.
Clare Jones also introduced a motion to donate an extra $1000 to their cause.
Clare Jones-I move that we allocate $1000,00 to Matthew’s Hope Brevard to support their food pantry program, which provides essential groceries and meats to local families in need. The funds will be taken from the miscellaneous reserve areas of the foundation budget, with an additional $250 to come from the Foundation account as an extraordinary item.
This contribution will be matched dollar-for-dollar by a current donor, effectively doubling our impact and helping Matthew’s Hope Brevard continue addressing food insecurity in our community.
Second by Carol Kruse, Motion approved was approved unanimously by the club.Marge Jones, President took all the donations to Matthews Hope and presented them with check for $2000.
We’ll see you Thursday 4th December for our Christmas meeting when we will have fun with our Holiday Gift Auction.
- Children’s Hunger Project Lunch Packing Event
Celebrating CBWC Women’s Service at Sunday packing event at Riverside Presbyterian Church
Today, we are proud to celebrate the amazing women of the Cocoa Beach Women’s Club who gave their time and energy to make a difference in our community. At Riverside Presbyterian Church in Cocoa Beach, these dedicated volunteers joined together to pack lunches for The Children’s Hunger Project — ensuring local children in need have nutritious meals to take home.
Their teamwork, compassion, and joyful spirits filled the room, proving once again that when we come together, we can accomplish great things. Every bag filled represents more than just food — it’s love, care, and hope for a child’s future.
A heartfelt thank you to each woman who showed up today. Your service is a shining example of the CBWC mission in action, and your kindness will ripple far beyond the walls of the event.
Together, we make a difference. 💙
- March General Meeting & New Members
Lot’s of members joined us for a fantastic presentation from Christina Slotin, Herbalist and owner of Herbal Cottage, in Cocoa Beach.
Christina’s practice embodies a Planetary approach to herbalism. This unique perspective integrates diverse herbal and therapeutic traditions, drawing from:
- Traditional Chinese Medicine
- Ayurveda
- Western Herbalism
- Traditional Mexican Medicine
Through her dedication and extensive training, Christina aims to provide comprehensive and personalized care for her clients.
We finally got to celebrate in person Wendy Gordon’s District 6 Volunteer of the Year award.
Wendy now continues on to the Florida GFWC Convention.
We welcomed two new members Nancy Berkley – sponsor Kelly Malik, Cara Seidel – sponsor Sue Ann Petrie.
Welcome to the club!
For Woman’s History Month, President Marge Jones prepared a little game for us.. if you’d like to try it, here it is!
Answers at the end!
Who is a former First Lady of Florida and GFWC President?
Who was a Florida Journalist and Environmentalist with a Florida school named after her?
Who is this Florida born woman who earned the Distinguished Service Medal and trained female pilots?
Who is in the Florida Hall of Fame and first female Florida Cabinet member and first female Florida Senate President?
Which woman doctor and astronaut flew on the Space Shuttle Endeavour?
Who is a famous Florida environmentalist with a park named after her in Cocoa Beach?
Who is the famous columnist with the highest recorded IQ before Guinness Records stopped the category?
Who was the first female Major League Baseball General Manager- with the Florida Marlins?
Who was a Florida Medicine Woman and Folk Heritage Award winner?
Scroll Down for answers!
Next meeting 4/3/2025
Answers
Who is a former First Lady of Florida and GFWC President? 8
Who was a Florida Journalist and Environmentalist with a Florida school named after her? 1
Who is this Florida born woman who earned the Distinguished Service Medal and trained female pilots? 4
Who is in the Florida Hall of Fame and first female Florida Cabinet member and first female Florida Senate President? 3
Which woman doctor and astronaut flew on the Space Shuttle Endeavour? 5
Who is a famous Florida environmentalist with a park named after her in Cocoa Beach? 9
Who is the famous columnist with the highest recorded IQ before Guinness Records stopped the category? 6
Who was the first female Major League Baseball General Manager- with the Florida Marlins? 7
Who was a Florida Medicine Woman and Folk Heritage Award winner? 2
Cocoa Beach Woman's Club 