By Jatrice Martel Gaiter Maud Booth, an indefatigable disrupter and advocate, was the co-founder of Volunteers of America in 1896.  She drafted the original constitution of VOA which granted women equal votes, well before women could vote for President of the United States.  VOA continues to build on its legacy of respecting women leaders. Today, 16 of the 30 affiliates are led by CEOs who are women. With bipartisan leadership, the affiliate serving Kentucky has expanded its pioneering programs to provide housing and addiction services to women who are pregnant, nursing, and ..read more

By DeLois Strum Welcome to February a/k/a "Black History Month." This month-long celebration commemorates the many contributions of African Americans dating back to the first Africans stolen and brought here to establish the American "economy." Black history month grew out of "Negro History Week," the brainchild of noted historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Since 1976, every US president officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. The Black experience in America began in 1619 with the first permanent English Colony in North America. Onboard the privateer ship White ..read more

When people think about retirement, they usually imagine easing into a more relaxed lifestyle and having more time for loved ones, travel, and the hobbies they’ve been wanting to take up. What many forget, however, is that to be able to live comfortably – and have fun – come retirement, you’ll need to have enough money to fund it all. Thing is; financial security doesn’t happen overnight. It takes discipline, commitment, and a lot of financial planning. You may think it’s too early to worry about retirement in your 20’s or 30’s, but time moves quicker than you think. If you don’t start ..read more

The last two years have been difficult for all of us.  What I considered a great holiday season in the past is very different from now.  I am no longer taking for granted the joys of holiday cooking, shopping, or spending time with family. Last year, our family was separated not only by miles but by an opportunistic virus.  I am thankful that, while it touched a few in my family, none were lost. I am thankful for the miracle of vaccines, and the scientists who spent over a decade developing them.  I am thankful for those unselfish people who braved the winter weathe ..read more

At JBC, we are mindful that August holds two very significant days for our work in creating greater gender equity and equality. While much progress has been made, now is also a time to reflect on just how much work remains to be done. Achieving equity for women in the workplace has remained a challenge. Significant wage gaps between men and women persist—particularly for women of color. According to our partner organization, Women Employed, for every dollar earned by non-Hispanic White men: ·        White women earn 79 cents ·   ..read more

When the legislation mandating seatbelts was introduced in the 1960’s it was attacked as a violation of individual freedom. Now, like most of the world, we have seatbelt legislation. Peter Singer, the Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University puts the issue into perspective this way; “Although the first compulsory seat-belt laws met with strong objections when they were introduced 50 years ago, nobody bothers to complain about such a commonsense rule anymore. In mandating vaccination against COVID-19, governments today can offer the same basic justification for protecting both ind ..read more

Chatbot Use Cases   If you are reading and still unsure how you can use it in your own business, hang tight, as I am about to give you some practical examples of how you can use chatbots to explode your marketing and sales. Here goes: Build a HUGE subscriber list In the same way you build an email list, it’s the same way you can build a subscriber list. The advantage here is that you’ll be adding mobile as another way to engage your tribe. As you know, your list is one of the most valuable assets you can own in your business. Unlike having a massive following on social media whic ..read more

A Huge Opportunity For You   Chatbots is a HUGE opportunity for any small business owner who is focused on creating lasting relationships and building a profitable business. Facebook along with its other platforms Instagram and WhatsApp, dominate the chat and messaging space. Facebook has approximately 2.85 billion active monthly users (Facebook 2021). Together, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp have over 1.88 billion users visiting the platforms EVERY DAY (statistica.com). In 2020, Facebook was the second most downloaded app in the world only beaten by TikTok. Facebo ..read more

PART 1. About Chatbots: The Foundation of Chat Marketing To fully understand what chatbots all are about, let’s first define what they are. Chatbots are software programs or applications that simulate human conversations via audio or text. A chatbot can either be powered by pre-programmed (or pre-determined) responses or artificial intelligence to drive conversations. Conversational marketing or messenger marketing is driven by chatbots. It’s very likely you’ve already seen chatbots in action and have probably interacted with them. They are on websites like mine, retail stores ..read more

By Candace Keith (V)oice. (I)nner Peace. (P)urpose. In being a former Preacher’s wife, I had lost them. As little girls, we love our voices. We hold talkative tea parties and chat all night on the phone with our friends, our shrill screams pierce the air when we play and we can cry louder and longer than any boy. What happens as women when our voices are silenced? We no longer hold parties or interact with our friends. We don't allow ourselves to play and we cry in silence; invisible to our partners and the world. As a Preacher's wife, I experienced Church Hurt and ..read more