Free Women’s Health Expo empowers women, benefits YWCA

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - A free, interactive self-care event to celebrate National Women’s Health Week took place Sunday in Madisonville.

The Empowering Her Women’s Health Expo was held at The Summit Hotel and featured healthy food and beverages, health screenings, mini makeovers, and even a complimentary babysitting service so that parents could relax and enjoy the event.

There were also fitness demonstrations, a fashion show, prizes, wardrobe and image development, and career and professional development workshops.

“The first thing we have to recognize - until we take care of ourselves, we can’t take care of other people,” said Melissa Kirkpatrick, who is a life coach and the event’s co-host. “And what we’ve strategically done with these vendors is to make sure that we start tapping into knowing what it is that maybe we’re not doing for ourselves and what we could be doing better.”

The organizers say this expo focused on all facets of women’s health.

“Overall wellness, not just physical wellness but emotional, mental - business in life - so we just had this brainchild eight weeks ago and said, ‘Let’s put this on, and here we are,” said co-organizer, nutrition coach and personal trainer, Emily McNamara.

And making all this possible took the experience in both planning and being a part of other women’s expos.

“I’ve always been a part of activities like this, and I recognize how if I were on the other side of it, how I could make it better and do it differently, so the idea came, ‘I want to do a big event; I want to help the vendors, I want to help those who participate,’ and then I called Emily as my business partner and that’s where it all started - we just want to make it bigger and better than what we’ve experienced ourselves,” Kirkpatrick said.

Kirkpatrick’s vision was to not only have it bigger as far as the number of vendors but also with the various topics covered.

“Sometimes just pinpointing specifics for what you need - today we have sixty vendors and everybody offers just something slightly different, and so depending on what you need you can find it today, McNamara explained. “We just wanted to help in every facet, and we have all of those categories covered.”

The event also supported the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati, as those who registered were encouraged to donate to the organization.

“We had almost six hundred registrations and the women are finding their empowerment by being a part of this event; so it means a lot to see the engagement that people are offering,” McNamara said.

In addition to monetary donations, the organizers also suggested in their Eventbrite that attendees bring high-priority items to donate to local YWCA shelters, such as pillows, underwear, and gas cards.

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