Florence, South Carolina – On March 10, leaders from all around the Pee Dee and the state will gather at Francis Marion University for the FMU Women’s Symposium. The event will go all afternoon and will cover many aspects of care.
The event, called “Women Who Care: Caring for Self and Others,” will take place from noon to 7 p.m. at the Luther F. Carter Center for Health Sciences, located at 200 W. Evans St. in Florence. The symposium is free and open to the public.
The Gender Studies Program and the Kelley Center for Economic Development at the university put on the event to talk about what it really means to care—for aging parents, children, communities, and yourself.
Participants will look at the pros and cons of caregiving through panels, workshops, and conversations. Organizers say the goal is to make care easier to understand, give useful tips, and strengthen support networks.
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Registration starts at 12:00, and soon after that, the welcome speech will begin. In the early sessions, you can choose between art therapy and music therapy classes, which are both hands-on approaches to deal with stress and emotions.
There will be specific conversations in the afternoon. At 1 p.m., there will be a panel on caring for older individuals, and at 2 p.m., there will be a conversation about caring for children.
A meditation and breathing course is also part of the midday programming. This gives people time to think before they focus their attention inward. Later panels will talk about personal health, with sessions focused on both physical and mental health. Each part makes a point: care is an ongoing job, and making choices on purpose can lead to permanent change for both individuals and the communities around them.
At 5:45 p.m., the day ends with closing comments and a networking reception in the FMU Gately Gallery. Attendees will also be able to hear an artist address and see FMU students perform in a choir.
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The symposium’s goal is to bring together people with different points of view and voices in order to help them understand each other better, gain practical knowledge, and feel more connected through the shared experience of caring.
