The Black Women’s Health Alliance (BWHA) and its nationally recognized “Prime Time Sister Circles” program celebrated its’ first Philadelphia class in a ceremony at a gala at the First District Headquarters in West Philadelphia on Saturday. More than 100 African-American women successfully completed the health intervention program and were recognized in a special banquet celebration that included an evening of music and dancing.

BWHA executive director Brenda Dunston-Shelton, MPH, welcomed the audience and thanked them for their support. “As we celebrate the completion of the inaugural Prime Time Sister Circle program in Philadelphia we mark a major milestone. It has been an honor to facilitate the implementation of this wellness initiative with our sisters in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection. We are grateful to Drs. Marilyn Hughes Gaston and Gayle K. Porter for creating the program and inviting the Black Women’s Health Alliance to present the program. As we continue our quest to create a legacy of wellness for the mind, body and spirit, we say a very special word of appreciation to the host sites, facilitators, co-facilitators and experts who shared their time, wisdom, energy and spirit with the 100-plus women participants in the seven sites. Without your willingness to create an environment of wellness, we would not be here this evening celebrating the first 100-plus alumni of the ‘Prime Time Sister Circle’ in Philadelphia. Your attendance here tonight indicates that you are with us on this journey to wellness. We invite you to stay with us on the path to creating a legacy of wellness of the mind, body and spirit,” Dunston-Shelton said. Shelton.

A very special tribute was given to two outstanding women posthumously.

They were Brita Hudson-Smith, first executive director of the Black Women’s Health Project, the original name of BWHA. Janet Cash, a 25-year breast cancer survivor, was a board member and co-founder of the “Sisters-In-Touch Breast Cancer Awareness Program.”

Under Hudson-Smith’s leadership, the project went from one-employee to 15 and two satellite offices. Cash worked tirelessly advocating the treatment and eradication of breast cancer by providing support groups and awareness and advocacy training. These dedicated women, who passed in 2011, were dedicated, passionate and unrelenting in their commitment to improving health outcomes for women. Their legacy instills a sense of urgency in those of us that advocate for the reduction of health disparities experienced by women of African ancestry, other women of color and their families.

The “Prime Time Sister Circles” program empowered the women to create a “legacy of wellness” through a series of workshops. The women met for twelve, two hours sessions each week and participated in interactive lessons focusing on stress management techniques, increased physical activity, and improved nutrition. The classes were lead by specially trained women from the Philadelphia community who were paid a stipend. The “Prime Time Sister Circles” were founded by internationally recognized Dr. Marilyn Gaston and Dr. Gayle Porter of the Gaston & Porter Health Improvement Center in Washington, D.C. The esteemed doctors were in Philadelphia last June for the Black Women’s Health Alliance “Creating a Legacy of Wellness: Mind Body & Spirit” kick-off campaign designed to engage city and community leaders so they become concerned about the health of their constituents. Those leaders were also encouraged to begin instituting wellness activities and programs in their arenas.

The “Prime Time Sister Circles” program is free and open to African-American women ages 40 to 70, who are interested in improving their health and reversing the negative health trends that plague the African-American community. “Obesity is at the core of almost every major chronic health problem we face including diabetes, heart and kidney disease, and depression,” Shelton-Dunston,” said. “We have to do something to reverse this negative trend toward unhealthy lifestyles in the African-American community. The Prime Time Sister Circles is the first in a series of events we have planned to help make Philadelphia’s African-American community healthier,” she added.

Congratulations and best wishes to Black Women Health Alliance board of directors Jeanice M. Salter, M. Renee Robinson, Gwendolyn Barringer-Price, Patricia L. Stewart, Valerie L. Morgan (chairperson), Sandra L Farmer, Imani Badie, the Rev. Dr. Lorina Marshall-Blake, the Rev. Dr. Geraldine Pemberton, Alisesha Vaughn and Brenda Shelton-Dunston and all involved!

For more information about the BWHA and the Primetime Sister Circles celebration, visit www.pbwha.org.