Women's Fund for Health, Education and Research (HER)

In February 1979 Jacqueline and Wayne Goettsche founded the Women's Fund for Health, Education and Research with a seed endowment. Concerned that women's health issues lacked appropriate funding and that research findings using only male subjects was applied indiscriminately to women, the Goettsches established the Women's Fund to support research on women's health issues and to disseminate women's health information through educational programs. The Goettsches organized a fundraising initiation barbeque in May 1979 that drew nearly 100 attendees from Houston's social and medical elite. With this event, the Women's Fund commemorated the signing of the By-laws and officially launched the new organization.

As a non-profit foundation, the Women's Fund for HER is dedicated to understanding, improving, and promoting women's health by providing support for research and educational programs. Fundraising through membership solicitation, special events, and corporate support is a primary goal of the Women's Fund. In 1979, the Women's Fund began with about 200 charter members; by 2001 membership had increased to 605, 203 of which are lifetime members. Membership categories include individual annual members, lifetime members, medical members, and corporate members.

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