Vaping has been in the new a lot lately. The rise in teen vaping has been driven mainly by flavored cartridge-based products such as Juul, which controls roughly three-quarters of the U.S. e-cigarettes market. More than 3.6 million U.S. kids use e-cigarettes, including 1 in 5 high school students; 97 percent of kids who use e-cigarettes use flavored varieties. Bloomberg Philanthropies just contributed $160 Million to a program to end the e-cigarette youth epidemic.

This weekend we have with us: a teen, Phillip Fuhrman, a high school Junior, who was introduced to vaping in 8th grade. It didn’t take long to be addicted, but he is now not vaping or using tobacco, and he is actively involved in the work of banning the flavored vaping products. He testified in Congress last July. His mother is cofounder with Meredith Berkman, of Parents Against Vaping E-cigarettes (PAVe). Vince Willmore is VP, Communications, of “Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids”.

www.tobaccofreekids.org , www.parentsagainstvaping.org

Susie Rheault brings her new book “My Wild and Precious Life: A Memoir of Africa” to us to share a compelling story of finding our life purpose. And sometimes when we have that idea in mind, we might happen to stumble on it, or it simply comes to us. Susie “stumbled” on an orphanage in Tanzania in 2011. She and her husband were seeking for a meaning work, and in 2 small concrete buildings housing 9 AIDS/HIV positive children, they found what they were looking for. While we search for our purpose, or perhaps in addition to it, we may find ourselves drawn to supporting the work of the Precious Project. While it continues as an orphanage, a key part of the work is education, and currently the elementary school has 350 students. And the focus is to build a secondary school. This is highly important work in the world, and is making a huge difference in these children’s lives, the leaders of tomorrow.

www.preciousproject.org

Chuck Potrykus is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with Pacific Medical Centers in the Puget Sound. He is committed to helping persons dealing with mental health issues, and helping the community to understand and be the needed support. The focus this time is on mental health issues in the tech industry. Many challenges exist for the employees who often relocate for these jobs, so don’t have a support network in place to support them in the stressful situations, the long hours, the competition. And it’s very often men, with the issue being that there’s some expectation that they should be tough, and not show emotion.

www.pacificmedicalcenters.org

Dr. Buck Blodgett founded the LOVE>hate Project after his daughter was murdered in her home by a friend. It is an effort to end male violence against women. Jessie was just 19 with great vision for the work she wanted to do and the instrument of change she aimed to be. She was, and rather than her dreams being extinguished by her brutal death, it has caused her family and friends to spread her message: that Love is Greater than Hate. Dr. Blodgett has written “A Message From Jessie: The Incredible True Story of Murder and Miracles in the Heartland” and demonstrates his belief in forgiveness, not vengeance. Which does not mean condoning the negative acts and behavior, but forgiving the person.

Find out more at www.ligth.org

Corrie Schumacher is a mother whose 22 year old son, Sam, died tragically in a motorcycle crash. Corrie is an inspiration in her decision to tell Sam’s story–a young man who loved riding fast on his bike. And he also made the decision when he got is license to check the box to be an organ donor. So while Sam’s life ended too soon, he had a traumatic brain injury, he was able to change the lives of countless other people. 5 people received his major organs, including a young child. Think of their chance for life, and the impact for them and their families. Other people are benefiting as well from his corneas, his skin, his veins–science is doing so much more. Corrie is passionate about sharing the reasons it’s so important to make this decision and to have the conversation with family members. And contact Life Center Northwest who does this work in the most kind and compassionate ways.

For more information visit: https://www.lcnw.org/

PAWS – Progressive Animal Welfare Society– an incredible nonprofit organization, helping animals, but making a difference in people’s lives, and the community. A major fundraiser comes up Saturday, September 7, from 8:00 am – noon at Warren Magnuson Park on Lake Washington. A special pup always leads the Walk, and this year the honor goes to Samson, a very special Chihuahua who found his forever home last fall. His Mom, Kelly Carpenter fills in some of the history, and we all want to go get our own little Samson soon! It’s possible at PAWS. Eve Firestone, the Events Manager provides details for registering. Great fun to form a team and walk together to support the important work PAWS does with animal, dog and cat rescue, and rehabilitating injured and orphaned wildlife.

www.pawswalk.net 

Dr. Adia Harvey Wingfield is a Professor of Sociology at Washington University in St. Louis. She is also a writer, and author of two important books in the health care field, the latest: Flatlining–Race, Work, and Healthcare in the New Economy. Very readable, it’s important information for anyone who cares about people, about equity, about social justice. With a lens here on the health care field, Dr. Harvey-Wingfield brings to light the backward slide that has taken place, and thus provides the direction in which we need to move.

Twitter: @AdiaHWingfield / Facebook: Adia Wingfield

Chuck Potrykus is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with Pacific Medical Centers. Chuck has worked with all ages of patients for more than 12 years. He brings his experiences to us to have an informed conversation about mental health and mental illness. We see a growing community of persons on our city streets who are struggling with homelessness, and many of these people may have a mental illness. Chuck shares insights of ways that we can help. He provides names of organizations that provide services. 211 is a number that anyone can call for resources. Treating every person as a human being, being compassionate, is important.

www.pacificmedicalcenters.org

Dr. John Poothullil is a retired physician, but he still continues to do research and write about health issues that plague us–diabetes, cancer and obesity. He has a common sense approach, and wants us to understand that we need to be bold and question our doctors about their directions for us, and definitely about medications. Some of his books– Diabetes: The Real Cause and the Right Cure; Surviving Cancer: A New Perspective on Why Cancer Happens & Your Key Strategies for a Healthy Life; and Eat, Chew, Live: 4 Revolutionary Ideas to Prevent Diabetes, Lose Weight, and Enjoy Food.

More information at: www.drjohnonhealth.com

Jack Kerfoot is a scientist, energy expert, and author of Fueling America: An Insider’s Journey. Jack writes from personal experiences that occurred across the globe, relevant information about our planet and climate change. What we need is sustainable, reliable energy sources for our future. Jack speaks of the wind and solar power. Both are growing, and providing clean energy. And some of the labor is coming from the coal industry, giving a positive turn to the concerns of closing the coal mines. Jack speaks of the improvements in electric cars that now can go further, and the batteries have a longer life. Once the batteries are no longer used in vehicles, they are repurposed for use as storage cells with solar power. “Fueling America” is very readable, and a good resource for healing the planet.

www.jackkerfoot.com