Fw: National Women's Hall of Fame Inducts Rosalynn Carter

>> National Women's Hall of Fame Inducts Rosalynn Carter
>>
>> ATLANTA, Oct. 2 (AScribe Newswire) -- On Oct. 5, former First Lady
>> Rosalynn Carter, vice chair of The Carter Center, will be inducted into
>> the
>> National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, N.Y. Widely recognized for
>> her
>> advocacy work on mental health issues over the last 30 years, Mrs. Carter
>> has
>> galvanized key partnerships in the campaign to eliminate stigma against
>> those
>> with mental illness, to achieve mental health insurance coverage parity,
>> and
>> to screen our youth early for mental and behavioral disorders.
>>
>> "Her life-long work on behalf of women, children, and the mentally
>> ill
>> is a living testament to her vision and character. In this day and age,
>> Mrs.
>> Carter's ongoing dedication to making our country a better place for all
>> is,
>> indeed, a great and worthy achievement," said Marilyn Bero, president of
>> the
>> National Women's Hall of Fame.
>>
>> A full partner with President Carter in all of the Carter Center's
>> activities, the former First Lady also created and chairs the Carter
>> Center's
>> Mental Health Task Force, an advisory body of experts and advocates
>> promoting
>> positive change in the mental health field. She also has spearheaded the
>> annual Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy. In addition,
>> Mrs.
>> Carter has chaired the World Federation for Mental Health's International
>> Committee of Women Leaders for Mental Health since its establishment. As
>> First Lady of the United States, Mrs. Carter served as honorary chair of
>> the
>> President's Commission on Mental Health. Within one year, the Commission
>> assessed the current system and made recommendations for new legislation
>> by
>> undertaking a series of public hearings across the country. In September
>> 1980, Congress passed the Mental Health Systems Act.
>>
>> Mother of four, Mrs. Carter has maintained a life-long dedication
>> to
>> issues affecting women and children. In 1991, she launched with Mrs.
>> Betty
>> Bumpers, wife of former U.S. Sen. Dale Bumpers of Arkansas, "Every Child
>> By
>> Two," a nationwide campaign to publicize the need for early childhood
>> immunizations. Mrs. Carter is president of the board of directors for the
>> Rosalynn Carter Institute of Georgia Southwestern State University (RCI),
>> which was established in her honor on the campus of her alma mater in
>> Americus, Ga., to help family and professional caregivers.
>>
>> Mrs. Carter has received many honors in the health and mental
>> health
>> fields and is the author of four books: First Lady from Plains,
>> Everything to
>> Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life, Helping Yourself Help
>> Others:
>> A Book for Caregivers, and Helping Someone With Mental Illness: A
>> Compassionate Guide for Family, Friends, and Caregivers.
>>
>> Mrs. Carter will be only the third First Lady ever inducted into the
>> Hall
>> of Fame joining Abigail Adams (inducted in 1976) and Eleanor Roosevelt
>> (inducted in 1973). Other Georgians already so honored have been:
>>
>> Jacqueline Cochran (1906-1980) - first woman aviator to break the
>> sound barrier and to pilot a bomber across the Atlantic (WW II). Jeanette
>> Rankin (1880-1973) - first woman elected to U.S. Congress. Ella Baker
>> (1903-1986) - civil rights leader and co-founder of the Southern
>> Christian
>> Leadership Conference, headed by Martin Luther King, Jr. Mary McLeod
>> Bethune
>> (1875-1955) - teacher who began a school to help educate young African
>> American women and worked to end discrimination through her leadership of
>> the
>> National Council of Negro Women. Juliette Gordon Low (1860-1927) founder
>> of
>> the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. Bessie Smith (1898-1937) one of the
>> country's
>> greatest blues singers.
>>
>> Originally named to the Hall of Fame in 2001, Mrs. Carter's
>> induction
>> was postponed a year, due to the Sept.11 attacks. The other 2001
>> inductees to
>> be honored include Dorothy Andersen, Lucille Ball, Lydia Maria Child,
>> Bessie
>> Coleman, Dorothy Day, Marian de Forest, Althea Gibson, Beatrice Hicks,
>> Barbara Holdridge, Harriet Strong, Emily Warner, and Victoria Woodhull.
>> Joining them are the 2002 inductees Paulina Davis, Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
>> Katharine Graham, Bertha Holt, Mary Engle Pennington, and Mercy Otis
>> Warren.
>> The October induction will bring the total number of inductees to 195.
>> Seneca
>> Falls, N.Y. is the birthplace of the women's rights movement and site of
>> the
>> first Women's Rights Convention in 1848.
>>
>> The not-for-profit, nongovernmental Carter Center was founded in
>> 1982
>> by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn. In
>> partnership
>> with Emory University, the Center works to wage peace, fight disease, and
>> build hope for millions of people around the world. Led by Mrs. Carter
>> since
>> its inception, the Center's Mental Health Program will host the annual
>> Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy, November 6-7. This
>> year's
>> topic is a Status Report: Meeting the Mental Health Needs of the Country
>> in
>> the Wake of September 11, 2001.
>>
>> To learn more about the Carter Center Mental Health Program, please
>> visit: www.cartercenter.org.
>>
>> -30-
>>
>>