She hopes nomination brings more attention to Invisible Illness

San Diego, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/04/2009 -- Lisa Copen, founder of National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week, is honored to be nominated for the Womens Health Hero award given by Our Bodies Ourselves. The deadline to vote is May 8, 2009 and the award winner will be announced May 11, 2009.

Lisa began Rest Ministries in 1997 after searching for a chronic illness support organization that also had a Christian foundation. In 2002, in an effort to bring together people who were hurting and feeling disheartened because no one understand that they “looked good” but felt terrible, Copen began National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week.

According to various studies, about 1 in 2 people in the USA live with a chronic illness or a condition like back pain or migraines.

You can vote for Lisa at http://ow.ly/54yt .

This year, NICIAW will be held Sept 14-20, 2009 and features a 5-day virtual conference with 20 online guest speakers. Last year’s conference workshops can be heard at www.invisibleillness.com and is also available through itunes as a free podcast download.

Copen was nominated by Kara Marks Valeri, her assistant, whom Lisa has never actually met. Lisa lives in San Diego, CA and Kara in Oklahoma. “It’s very humbling to read about how I have been able to bring comfort to women through Rest Ministries and Invisible Illness Week all over the world,” says Copen. “I am honored to be a part of the awards nomination of Our Bodies Ourselves, but mostly excited because it will let more women who suffer silently from invisible illnesses know that they are no longer alone.”

Voting ends May 8, 2009. To vote for Lisa “click on the stars” at http://ow.ly/54yt .