Hormones, ‘having it all’ and a healthy dose of good humour set the tone for a frank and fearless conversation about women’s health at Sunday’s ‘Brunch for Better’ event, led by local mother-and-daughter duo Dr Angela Todd and Dr Anthea Todd.
Held in spectacular autumn sunshine in the gardens of Mewburn Park in Maffra, the second annual Brunch for Better brought together 130 women – including mothers, grandmothers, Old Scholars and friends – and raised about $12,000 for the Gippsland Grammar Foundation.
Gippsland Grammar Foundation Chair Jessica Cane said the purpose of Brunch for Better was to create a space where women could enjoy a day out together while also feeling informed and empowered about their own health.
“What made Sunday so successful was the way our Gippsland community came together for one another,” Ms Cane said.
“Angela and Anthea shared their extraordinary insight into women’s health, which set the tone for the day perfectly, and the connections forged across the room are exactly the kind of community the Gippsland Grammar Foundation is so proud to help build.”
Speaker Dr Anthea Todd’s book What’s My Body Telling Me? provided many of the conversation starters.
She described navigating hormone changes across a lifetime as being like swimming at different beaches, with some offering calm, lake-like experiences and other life stages creating fluctuations that felt as rough as “the beach at Seaspray”.
Dr Angela Todd also spoke about the challenges of raising a family of five children – all of whom attended Gippsland Grammar from ELC to VCE – while building a successful regional chiropractic and allied health business and completing a PhD.
“I’ve always said that women can have it all,” Dr Todd said. “But perhaps just not all at the same time.”
Founded 40 years ago as the fundraising arm of Gippsland Grammar, the Gippsland Grammar Foundation supports the school through capital improvements, such as the recent Art & Design Centre at the Garnsey Campus, as well as scholarships for students who may not otherwise be able to access an education at the Gippsland independent school.
Dr Todd is co-founder of Todd Clinics, a Gippsland-grown allied health network now spanning nine locations across Gippsland and Geelong.
Her daughter, Dr Anthea Todd (Class of 2012), has pursued her own path in women’s health and is the author of What’s My Body Telling Me?, drawing on postgraduate study in women’s health and reproductive medicine.
More than 130 women attended the Brunch for Better, raising about $12,000 for the Gippsland Grammar Foundation.
Dr Anthea Todd attended Gippsland Grammar from ELC to year 12, and she returned 14 years after graduating to speak at a fundraising event for the school.
