Mind + Body: July 2018
Juicing for Health: Marques Colston signs with a local juice company.
Former New Orleans Saints wide receiver and Super Bowl XLIV champion Marques Colston and his wife Emily have partnered with a New Orleans-based juice and smoothie bar franchise called Main Squeeze Juice Co. In addition to co-owning the company’s flagship store — slated to open later this year on Magazine Street — the dynamic duo will work with the Main Squeeze executive team and support the brand’s national expansion plans. Main Squeeze juice Co. has nearly 20 additional stores (both corporate and franchisee-owned) that will open throughout Louisiana and Texas by the end of next year.
The new juice and smoothie bar will offer a nutritionist-designed, superfood-centric menu with cold-pressed juices and superfood smoothies, along with one-, two- and three-day juice cleanse programs, wellness shots and acai bowls created from organic and wild-harvested acai berries from the Amazon rainforest in Northeast Brazil.
“As a former professional athlete, it’s hard to ignore the trend towards healthy living in this country, as well as the growing demand for products and services related to helping people achieve these goals,” Marques says.
Marques is a 10-year NFL veteran who played his entire career with the New Orleans Saints and helped the team achieve victory in Super Bowl XLIV. In addition to his on-field accomplishments, he is a passionate entrepreneur. He’s part-owner of the Arena Football League’s Philadelphia Soul, and he has made a series of investments in startup companies operating in the health and sports sectors. Most recently, he launched an executive education program with Columbia University’s business school to help retired athletes and other professionals become skilled entrepreneurs and investors. mainsqueezejuiceco.com
Rhythm for Relief: HDCP, a local non-profit organization, recently held a fundraiser to support outbreak preparedness in communities affected by the Ebola virus.
In the wake of a new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (and following President Trump’s appeal to Congress to rescind the $252 million previously allocated to fighting the Ebola epidemic), locally based HDCP held a recent fundraiser at NOLA Brewing Tap Room to support its flagship initiative — Ebola Survivor Corps. ESC is working to rebuild the healthcare system of Sierra Leone following the recent outbreak.
“HDCP was founded during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa with Ebola Survivor Corps as our first big project,” says Dr. Bond, co-founder and executive director of ESC and PhD, Tropical Medicine, Tulane University. “The founders are a collective of academics and professionals from around the country — myself and a few others based right here in New Orleans. I did my PhD thesis research (at Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine) in Northern Sierra Leone, so it was really personal to me. ESC was born out of a passion to do something and realizing the unique opportunity for Ebola survivors to effect change in their communities.”
During the second annual Rhythm for Relief fundraising event — which included music by Jamey St. Pierre and Sam Price & Friends, plus a silent auction, local craft beer and crawfish — guests listened to firsthand experiences of Sierra Leonean Ebola survivors. Attendees also personalized postcards that were then sent to Louisiana’s representatives in a group effort to protect Ebola relief funds and prevent another global pandemic.
“I think this issue, and project, remains relevant for a few reasons,” Dr. Bond says. “This is an extremely underserved community. There is very little government assistance for health care, and most of the international NGO projects that came in to help the survivors and help rebuild communities have wrapped up their projects at this point. I think now we are poised to grow and add on new projects directly empowering Ebola survivors and building on their community and health security priorities.”
The event raised more than $12,000, which will be used to expand ESC’s impact across Koinadugu, Northern Sierra Leone and, ultimately, throughout the country. “Initially these funds will ensure that we can pay salaries for our Survivor Health Advocate staff for nearly a year,” Dr. Bond says. “Early reporting and detection, along with common sense infection control and hygiene practices, are key, and this what our SHAs aim to impart. In addition, we have a few pillars we are currently working on to raise more funds for, including an adult literacy campaign and improved mobility for the SHAs. ESC is grateful to each of its event sponsors, including special thanks to Cembell for its generous support of this year’s Rhythm for Relief benefit.”
ESC will hold a special event in the fall and the third Rhythm for Relief fundraiser in the spring. Keep in the loop on project updates and events at hdcphealth.org and ebolasurvivorcorps.org.
Maria’s Pick — Igniting the Fire Within: A new book reveals advice on what it takes to start, create and even disrupt in order to achieve dreams and realize success.
In their new book, entitled Firestarters: How Innovators, Instigators, and Initiators Can Inspire You to Ignite Your Own Life (Prometheus Books, $18), authors Kathy Palokoff, Dr. Paul Eder and Raoul Davis, Jr., profile more than 40 “firestarters” (serial doers) on what it takes to fuel one’s passion and drive that will then lead to success. The profiled innovators, instigators and initiators are offer advice on how to ignite your life and career, while the authors also offer three key professional and personal strategies to get your own fire burning right now.
No matter if you are moving up the corporate ladder, starting your own company or championing a professional cause, there are times when you may doubt yourself or your ability to see the project to fruition. By reading the stories contained in this book, you’ll gain insights into the crucial difference between people who make things happen and those who only think about making an impact. There’s also helpful psychological, organizational and business research from The Firestarters Framework. This motivational book creates a complete roadmap to achieve personal success and make an impact in the world.
According to the authors three pragmatic strategies include:
Ignite, fuel and accelerate success:
There are factors based on personality, situations and the environment that you need to recognize in yourself and then optimize to be successful. For example, how can factors including collaboration, mission and competition help accelerate you to the next level?
Replicate accomplishments to gain confidence:
Look for connections between seemingly disparate events; learn what works across situations; and generalize this knowledge to other activities.
Plan for inevitable extinguishers:
People are often unaware of how bumpy the road to success can be and how inevitable extinguishers can crush them. You can avoid obstacles, however, by surrounding yourself with supporters who can nurture, protect and even challenge.
“This is a truly inspiring book that will ignite a strong desire to follow through on your dreams,” says Maria Muro, publisher of New Orleans Living. “There’s even self-assessment exercises, checklists and other tools that will help you apply these insights to your own life. And who couldn’t use more success?” firestartersmedia.com