Ragen Chastain Featured Speaker at Abundia 2013
“Finding Joy in Your Body”
Ragen Chastain is the featured speaker at Abundia 2013 and will present numerous workshops over the course of the weekend, November 1-3.
About Ragen: Ragen Chastain is a trained researcher and three-time National Champion dancer who writes and speaks about self-esteem, body image, and Health at Every Size. She is author of the blog www.DancesWithFat.org and the book Fat: The Owner’s Manual. Ragen passionately speaks for people of size and against the ill-conceived war on obesity.
This year’s retreat will feature the following workshops with Ragen: Health At Every Size (HAES), Medical Advocacy, Dance for Everybody, and more! If you’re hearing about Ragen for the first time, check out her blog for a glimpse of her smarts, passion, and talent.
A big shout out to friend of Abundia, VoluptuArt! We are SO excited to include some of their gorgeous, fat positive pieces in our Silent Auction. Come ready to bid.
And a million thanks, VoluptuArt! Go like them on Facebook and visit them at www.voluptuart.com today!
WE NEED YOUR HELP! We need volunteers for music, singing, drumming, dance party, karaoke or any kind of help with fun activities at the retreat. Please respond in a comment here or send a message to megan@abundia.org.
Thank you!!
We all know that sometime life intervenes into our carefully made plans. Should you have an issue and need to cancel your paid registration to Abundia, the following refund policies are in place:
Cancel by October 1, 2012: 50% registration fee refunded
Cancel after October 1 2012: no refund available
Call Illinois Beach Resort directly to cancel room reservations. See their policy here.
Because many of us have experienced the life-changing power of the Abundia weekend, we want to expand our community to include as many women as possible. As all Abundia alumni will tell you, it takes a great deal of courage to commit to the weekend and overcome fear and shame about what you might find there. For some, limited financial funds are an additional obstacle that we want to overcome. Therefore, we would like to announce the creation of the Abundia Empowerment Fund.
Is the cost of the weekend preventing you from attending Abundia?
Do you know a woman who would attend Abundia if she had financial help?
Would you like to help another woman experience Abundia?
If the answer to any of those questions is YES, visit our page on the Abundia Empowerment Fund.
Looking for a roommate for the retreat? It’s a great way to keep costs down and make a new connection! Email jeani@abundia.org if you’d like a roomie and I’ll hook you up.
Friends: Abundia needs YOU! As we plan the November retreat (which will be here before we know it!), we need volunteers to pitch in on our Retreat Committees. Do you have talents or skills in planning, collaboration, creativity, or just plain being awesome? Please help out! We need help on the following committees:
Empowerment: helping women who might otherwise not be able to attend the retreat.
Logistics: Retreat space and setup planning
Development: Outreach and fund-raising
Programming: Retreat program planning
If you are interested in helping us with any of these areas, leave a comment here! Or email megan@abundia.org!
I try to look at my body, with all its melty, jiggling strangeness and remember that it is a product of years of abusing myself through calorie restriction, binges and purges, and yo-yo dieting. It’s been through so much; it doesn’t deserve my hatred as well.
Emily McCombs at xoJane (via fatandtheivy)
