LIVONIA, Mich., June 3, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Girls With Guts, a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring confidence and providing support to women with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), ostomies and pouches, announced it will host a fall retreat for women with these conditions. The 2013 weekend-long retreat for women, ages 18 and older, will be held September 27 - 29, at YMCA Camp Copneconic in Fenton, Michigan.
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"Our goal is to help women, who have IBD, ostomies and pouches, to foster friendships and learn ways to improve their lives emotionally, mentally and physically," said Jackie Zimmerman, president and CEO and a Michigan native, who founded the non-profit organization with Charis Kirk, a North Carolina resident. They and others have shared their personal stories about the disease through social media, blogs and on the organization's website, www.GirlsWithGuts.org.
Zimmerman added, "We know there is a large community of women out there throughout the U.S. and Canada, who need support and have many unanswered questions."
In addition to the opportunity for camaraderie at the retreat, women will be able to participate in outdoor events, arts activities, lectures and focus groups facilitated by medical specialists, focusing on women's issues and IBD.
Session leaders include Dr. Lori Gawron, M.D., an instructor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Women's Reproductive Health Research Scholar, and Stephanie Horgan, LCSW, who earned her master's degree at Loyola University in Chicago and counsels people suffering from chronic illness. Horgan was diagnosed with IBD in 2000.
Registration and more information are available online at www.GirlsWithGuts.org/event. Scholarships are also available and early registration is recommended.
