Thanks to you, the International Size Acceptance Association (ISAA) has met our $100 fundraising goal, with a week to spare!

We are deeply gratified for your continuing support of this organization. The webhosting has been secured, and we will now be able to cover the costs of the domain names of www.podwom.com and www.size-acceptance.org

PODWOM will continue to be active this year, with more topics and more guests! ISAA continues to give media interviews and reach people through our activism and educational efforts -- all over the world.

ISAA appreciates your generous donations, especially now, when times are hard.

Thank you all again for your continued support of ISAA and size acceptance.

Sincerely,
Allen Steadham
Director ISAA

Now that we've reached July 1st, ISAA is 13 years old! That means our organization will officially be a teenager, which is certainly appropriate, because we also relate to the BBTeenz. We’d like to continue to reach out to the `Teenz and we want to hear from them, too! The next PODWOM (Podcast Without Measure) will have a BBTeenz theme.

Now, believe it or not, PODWOM is already five years old! And we’re making plans to expand (pun intended) and become international, just like ISAA. In the coming weeks and months, you can look forward to PODWOM UK, which will be hosted by ISAA UK’s Fatima Parker. Fatima’s been very busy, as always. Not only does she continue to run the United Kingdom and Middle East/North Africa (MENA) branches of ISAA, but it’s now my pleasure to announce her promotion to ISAA’s Vice President of Activism (both U.S. and International). We’re all volunteers here at ISAA, so we really appreciate Fatima’s dedication, determination, courage and professionalism that she has demonstrated since becoming a part of ISAA in 2001.

In other news, ISAA would like to ask for some volunteers, specifically ones who are knowledgeable concerning healthy food choices and fitness at any size. ISAA’s primary motto is “Respect, Fitness, Health.” We do pretty good at getting the word out about Respect, including educating about self-esteem and advocacy for the rights of people of all sizes and combating weight-based discrimination. But that’s only a fraction of what ISAA supports. We’d love to do so much more, but there’s only a few people presently able to provide information for the ISAA website, so we’ll admit it — we need your help.

We would like to open up a section that recommends safe fitness routines, varying from low- to medium-impact — which could help people become more active without compromising their health or their dignity. Unfortunately, for many people of size, going to the gym means enduring insults or being stigmatized. However, if the same people had an option either within their own home or nearby, the possibilities become dramatically greater.

We’d also like to create a section with guidelines for making healthy food choices. And we’d love to introduce healthy recipes for delicious foods which aren’t designed for weight loss; they’d be designed to taste great and make you feel great (because it’s healthy). We know most of our readers are on a budget of some kind (we are, too!), so we’d like to prove that healthy and tasty food doesn’t have to be expensive. We’d also like to offer vegetarian/vegan, dairy-free or gluten-free varieties to our “menu.” That said, we know this will take some time, but it will certainly be worth it.

So, if you’re fired up about fitness for all sizes or a foodie (or even nutritionist) with super recipes and a zest for cooking, contact ISAA at isaafitness@gmail.com or womeasure@gmail.com with the subject line “WOMBeta.”

That’s it for this “From The Director’s Chair.” Have a wonderful day!

Allen Steadham, Director
International Size Acceptance Association
Email: directisaa@gmail.com

RESPECT Because you must respect yourself in order to succeed. Self-respect and self-esteem are fundamental parts of the human psyche. They are essential keys to unlocking human potential. When people feel good about themselves and become secure in who they are, they are able to look beyond their current circumstances and dream of a better life. ISAA contends that every human being is deserving of a fundamental level of respect.

FITNESS Because people of all sizes can become more fit Despite claims to the contrary, people do not have to become slim to become fit; it is possible to be "fit and fat" at the same time. Basic low impact exercise such as walking and swimming can have a very noticeable and positive effect on the human body, when maintained on a semi-regular basis. As people become more fit, their chances of living longer increase.

HEALTH Because everyone could benefit from healthier food choices Modern work and family schedules are astoundingly fast and frantic, leaving little time for home-cooked or healthy meals. This, combined with a decrease in physically demanding jobs, the invention of mass transportation, computers, video games and the internet have resulted in less physically active societies that are also eating less healthily. ISAA is committed to helping inform the public about healthier food choices.