Rev. Becca Stevens (right), a Nashville-based priest and founder of the Center for Contemplative Justice (CCJ), an organization that supports community initiatives around the world to empower women, with Gisela (left), the operations manager at the Moringa Madres project in Ajijic, Mexico, one of the programs supported by CCJ.

NASHVILLE, TN – The Tramuto Foundation, based in Ogunquit and founded in 2001 by Donato J. Tramuto, a global healthcare activist and CEO of Tivity Health, a leading provider of health and wellness programs, has awarded its 2nd annual Life’s Bulldozer Moments Award to the Center for Contemplative Justice (CCJ), a Nashville-based non-profit supporting two initiatives that increase access to health, compassion and economic independence for women in Ecuador and Mexico.

Sibimbe in the Los Rios region of Ecuador is a sewing cooperative that offers women employment as well as educational resources for them and their children. The Moringa Madres project in Ajijic, Mexico, is an employment program focused on the international sale of products handmade by local women using locally sourced moringa leaves.

Three years ago, Tramuto published his first book, Life’s Bulldozer Moments: How Adversity Can Lead to Success in Life and Business. Now in its 6th printing, the book recounts several tragedies and hardships that Tramuto has endured, while illustrating how he overcame what he describes as ‘life’s bulldozer moments’ to become a compassionate corporate leader and philanthropist who is focused on making life better for others.

Tramuto created the Tramuto Foundation in honor of his two close friends and their young son who died when their plane struck the 2nd World Trade Tower in New York City on September 11, 2001. Eighteen years later, the Foundation continues to provide annual scholarships for students in need and grants to non-profit organizations whose mission is focused on improving the lives of others.

“Through our Life’s Bulldozer Moments Award, the Foundation seeks to honor the incredible work of the CCJ, an organization focused on small community initiatives that provide critical economic empowerment for women who are struggling to overcome great adversity and injustice in their lives,” Tramuto said. “CCJ’s ongoing work to make the world more just and fair aligns perfectly with the mission of the Foundation. We are proud to partner with CCJ in an effort to expand these two important projects that are transforming the lives of women who have suffered from the violence and vulnerability of poverty.”

CCJ was founded in 2004 by Rev. Becca Stevens, a Nashville priest, author, entrepreneur and founder of Thistle Farms, to support sustainable small community initiatives that empower, heal and scale social justice work. Through the Bulldozer Moments grant, CCJ will initiate an accelerator program to support and expand Sibimbe, a sewing cooperative of four women in Los Rios who design, sew and market clothing items and household products. The Tramuto Foundation funding will be used to purchase new sewing and embroidery machines, which will require additional employees. In addition, the grant will pay for a new organizational partnership, and a marketing plan to broaden the production line.

The second accelerator project, Moringa Madres, employs four women in Ajijic, Mexico who harvest moringa leaves for tea, soaps and other products. The Tramuto Foundation grant will allow the program to meet growing consumer demand for moringa products by expanding the half-acre of land they now cultivate. In addition, Moringa Madres will be able to purchase specialized packaging equipment, increase salaries to a living wage until the expanded operation is self-sustaining, create oversight protocols and a strategic plan, and add new partnerships to expand markets and increase profit margins.

“The story of Moringa Madres and Sibimbe is one of women’s resilience. The women producers already have the drive and the work ethic, but to really combat poverty and injustice, they need resources to grow,” commented CCJ Founder Stevens. “We believe that the Tramuto Foundation’s generous funding will not just provide the capital, training and tools for sustainable growth of both initiatives, but will offer hope and compassion to each individual woman, to her family and the entire community.”

About the Center for Contemplative Justice
CCJ is a Nashville-based umbrella organization focusing on small community initiatives around the globe that provide healing through compassion, empathy and economic empowerment. They serve small communities of women, knowing that if you heal a woman, you heal a village. For more information, see www.staugustineschapel.org