Rosie Butler, founder of the Alabama Chapter of the American Liver Foundation, joins us to speak about new advice coming from our public health agencies advising parents that it is their decision whether or not to give their children immunizations for Hepatitis B. Philanthropist Butler speaks about her experience while raising funds for the American Liver Foundation. An endowment in her name at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital Liver Center is more than a passion; it’s personal.
Butler shares that in the 1990s, she was given one year to live after testing positive for Hepatitis B, and just as her family adjusted to this news, her youngest son also tested positive for Hepatitis B.
She began to do research and learned about the American Liver Foundation. After establishing a chapter for the organization in Alabama, Butler raised funds for research. Her work caught the attention of the organization’s founder, Thelma Theil. Butler was asked to accompany Tom Landry to Washington, DC where they testified before Congress on the organization’s behalf. Due to their work, more babies were immunized against Hepatitis B, and the number indices of the disease began to fall.
I asked Butler how it felt to see her work that had a positive impact on our community be left again to parents to make an important health decision. She advises parents to do what they have to do to keep their babies safe. The focus of Butler’s work is now in support of her endowment at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital Liver Center.
Please note the American Liver Foundation, the Hepatitis B Foundation, and the World Health Organization
I asked Rosie to share the story of her meeting with the founder of Ebony magazine, John H. Johnson. Rosie worked selling Fashion Fair Cosmetics at the Milton Waldorf Department Store in Mississippi. She sold more at her counter than anyone else. This encounter eventually led to a move to Chicago and then a career touring as an Ebony Fashion Fair model.