COLIN LESLIE
RYE, NY TEEN KICKS OFF WALK TO RAISE AWARENESS FOR CELIAC DISEASE

Colin Leslie, a 14 year old from Rye, New York, is a teenager on a mission – to educate as many people as he can about the harmful effects of celiac disease, a rare autoimmune disorder that he was recently diagnosed with last year.

Affecting 1 in 133 people, celiac disease is more common than Type I diabetes, yet it sometimes takes more than a decade to detect that someone is suffering from this debilitating illness that attacks the lining of the small intestine. In fact, Colin says, when he first became sick, doctors did not think that celiac disease was the cause of his symptoms. “I went to many different specialists trying to figure out what was causing the headaches and migraines I had 24 hours a day, every day of the week and the joint pains that later developed,” he says. “I had more tests than I can remember including CT scans, spinal tap, MRI, EEG, and massive amounts of blood taken, but what complicated my diagnosis even more was that I did not experience the typical symptoms of celiac disease, which tend to be digestive problems.”

While it takes almost 11 years to diagnose a patient suffering from celiac, if left untreated, the disease can lead to rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, amemia and even cancer. The major cause of celiac disease are foods rich in gluten, such as pasta and bread. As result, Colin is now on a gluten free diet and has made tremendous improvement since modifying his eating habits.

Colin says he was surprised to find that celiac affects approximately 1% of the population, yet awareness of the disease among doctors and the public is surprisingly low. As a result, this high school freshman is spearheading the first annual Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease at Rye High School on October 22 with proceeds benefiting the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Medical Center– a facility that is at the forefront of researching options on diagnosing and treating this debilitating illness. Colin says his goal for the event is to raise 50,000 dollars for awareness and research.

With the help of the Westchester Celiac Sprue Support Group, Colin has been able to gain the support needed to turn his vision into reality. This enterprising young man has even found partners for the event – WPLJ radio and Gluten Free Living magazine plan to be on hand for the festivities, and vendors such as Foods by George and Life Field’s Buckwheat Products, will be selling gluten-free food at the event.

Colin’s hope is that the walk becomes an annual tradition so that funds raised on behalf of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Medical Center, will bring doctors another step closer to early diagnosis and a cure. He says, “I want to make people aware of this disease so that no one has to go through the long journey to getting diagnosed that I went through.”

To register online for the Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease 2006 or to find out more about diagnosis and treatment, visit the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Medical Center at http://www.celiacdiseasecenter.columbia.edu/.

For more information on the first annual Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease you can send an email to celiacwalk@optonline.net. Donations can be made to the Westchester Celiac Sprue Support Group and mailed to the following address:

Westchester Celiac Sprue Support Group
15 Hix Avenue
Rye, NY 10580

Welcome Colin to the Role Mommy Honor Roll!

TOUCH COSMETICS FOUNDER, NANCY RAND

Make Up Artist & Entrepreneur Helps Young Women Build Self Esteem

When I first met Nancy Rand, we instantly hit it off. Partly, because I found out she and I went to the same high school (unbeknownst to both of us) and shared the same work ethic that I believe has been instilled in many of our peers who grew up in our tight-knit community in Brooklyn, New York. Nancy, who previously worked as a marketing executive at Redbook Magazine, completely reinvented her life one day, moving from the Big Apple to Miami where she launched a career as a celebrity make-up artist. With ambition and creativity driving the way, Nancy not only took Miami by storm, but managed to launch her own cosmetics line in the process. Touch Cosmetics, which Nancy created with a team of seasoned beauty experts, has been well-received by the cosmetics industry as well as her celebrity clientele. But for Nancy, who recently became an aunt, being able to pursue her passion has also been about giving back to young girls and women who could benefit from her insight and positive attitude. Every year, Nancy donates her time to Camp Pennbrook, a summer camp for overweight girls where the emphasis is on guiding young women toward a healthy way of eating and exercise as well as building their self esteem. Nancy recently visited the camp, sharing beauty tips and giving heartfelt advice to campers. Her precision and dedication towards her career and helping others has also given her the opportunity to sponsor numerous charity functions such as "The Look For Success", a welfare to work program for women, WIZO - Women International Zionist Organization, JAFCO, helping the homeless and abused children & the Animal Rescue. Congratulations Nancy for being our latest inductee into the Role Mommy Honor Roll! To find out more about Nancy Rand and Touch Cosmetics, click here.

HAPPYBABY

fresh frozen organic baby meals

While Role Mommy has been on the lookout for moms who have reinvented their lives to strike a balance, we've also discovered some amazing women along the way who may not be mothers, but have launched innovative businesses or charitable organizations that help children, parents and caregivers too! Our first inductee to the Role Mommy Honor Roll, is HAPPYBABY food, an enterprising company run by two women that is already taking the baby food market by storm.

Shazi Visram is the brainchild behind HAPPYBABY, which offers frozen organic meals for little ones. No need to throw out another jar of baby food, with HAPPYBABY food, you just scoop out exactly what you need and put the rest back in the freezer!

Shazi first came up with the concept for an organic food brand that would offer convenient, healthy meals for babies and children, as she listened to a friend's frustration about the difficulty of finding the time to make her own baby food between caring for her baby, keeping up with her work, and all of the other demands of her very full life. From there, the wheels started turning, and Shazi, who was pursuing her MBA, came up with a killer business plan to launch a company that parents and kids would love right from the first bite!

As she worked to turn her vision into reality, Shazi met Jessica Rolph, also an MBA graduate who was working in the national office of Whole Foods Market in Austin, TX where she was the Account Manager for SPINS, the leading information provider on the Natural Products Industry and its consumer dynamics. Jessica instantly believed in the company's mission and decided to team up with Shazi to introduce the brand to consumers nationwide. Over the past year, the pair have done just that! HAPPYBABY food is currently available on the east coast at Gourmet Garage and online at Fresh Direct and within the week, HAPPYBABY food will be available nationwide through the Wild Oats chain of stores with other major retail food chains coming on board every day!

Shazi's dream to impact the way babies are fed in the United States is now being realized as her innovative line of organic baby food arrives at a store near you. Even more gratifying, as the company achieves success in the States, HAPPYBABY food is also impacting the lives of children residing in third world countries as well. Every time you purchase a Happy Baby product, a portion of the proceeds is donated to Project Peanut Butter, a non-profit organization that provides food for starving children in Malawi.

Congratulations to Shazi, Jessica and HAPPYBABY for being our first inductee into the Role Mommy Honor Roll!