Hey crew! Welcome back to Thrivency's weekly newsletter 👋🏽
I love a theme, and this week’s issue of Wellness News You Can Use proves one thing: when women have access to capital, they build solutions in the health and wellness space that truly move the needle.
New partnerships are forming, unique solutions are being built and great advancements are happening across industries. So let’s kick off the new month and with some positive news. ✨
🔎 In this issue:
Before we dive in, check out a quick word from this week’s sponsor ⤵️
Daily news for curious minds.
Be the smartest person in the room. 1440 navigates 100+ sources to deliver a comprehensive, unbiased news roundup — politics, business, culture, and more — in a quick, 5-minute read. Completely free, completely factual.
🏐 Savannah James Backs Women’s Volleyball
Savannah James is adding "team investor" to her resume, joining the ownership group behind LOVB Los Angeles alongside Issa Rae and Alexis Ohanian.
Her reason is personal. Her daughter Zhuri plays volleyball, and James wants her and other young girls to see a league built specifically for them. LOVB Los Angeles will be the league's seventh franchise, playing out of Inglewood's Intuit Dome starting in the 2026-27 season. It's another example of Black women using their capital and platforms to shape the future of women's sports, not just show up to support it.
Catch the details on James' investment and what's next for LOVB LA:
📱 Telehealth, Built by Sisters
Dr. Jacqueline Philips and Lorraine Phillips just launched Melanin Doctor, the first Black-owned telehealth platform built exclusively for Black women. And the story behind their entrepreneurial endeavor is personal.
The sisters, both doctors, watched their own mother navigate health challenges and built the platform so more Black women could get the same access, answers and options. Black women face disproportionately higher rates of obesity and diabetes than white women, yet are so often left out of conversations about the most effective treatments. Their focus will start with weight loss care and expand to serve other audiences soon.
Get the full story on the sisters behind the platform:
🍼 $2M Investment in Black Birth Workers
Mielle Organics founder Monique Rodriguez just put $2 million behind fixing one of the most devastating gaps in Black maternal health, and she's doing it by investing in the people, not just the programs.
Her donation to birthFUND will establish a new midwifery scholarship on Chicago's South Side, training the next generation of birth workers where Rodriguez herself once worked as a labor and delivery nurse. Midwives, when properly integrated into care, could help close the maternal mortality gap affecting Black women. This is a founder using her own wealth to invest back in the community that nurtured her.
Read more on Rodriguez's donation and the scholarship it's building:
📲 Check your DMs
Not done scrolling yet? Sliding into your DMs with a few posts I added to my save folder last month:
The kids are alright! Five-year-old Phoenix Hicks was recently recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest yoga instructor. Watch how she’s already teaching classes for the next generation of yogis 🧘🏽♀️
Mixed media artist, Lex Marie, used hospital blankets and a whole lot of ingenuity to construct the “Black Maternal Health flag” to bring awareness to the maternal health crisis. Hear the story behind her latest work. 🇺🇸🖤
Did you tap in to the discourse about school choice for Black students? Nikole Hannah-Jones’ NYT essay ignited an explosive online debate last week. But if you’re still trying to get to the root of ir, I thought this post by Waymaker Culture nicely outlines the foundational research on what Black children need in a classroom to grow, excel and thrive 📚
Thanks for reading this issue of Wellness News You Can Use. You know the deal: we’ll meet right back here next week to dive in to the Local Event Lineup!
Thrivency quick links:
Want your wellness event featured in next week’s newsletter? Hurry and submit it here
Explore our past Articles + Insights
Looking for BIPOC wellness practitioners? We’ve curated a list of 140+ (and growing) from around the country. Explore our directory
Partnership opportunities? Email us at [email protected]
This email contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you make a purchase at no extra cost to you!