While no longer living in Hollywood, Ms. Barrett has not slowed down. I recently had the pleasure of talking to her recently about her newest venture, The Rona Barrett Foundation. This non-profit foundation will be supported by a portion of the profits from her new business Lavender By Rona
Q - What is the Rona Barrett Foundation?A - The Rona Barrett Foundation is a qualified 501c3 organization dedicated to supporting Seniors In Need. I've called it S.I.N, because it is a sin the way we are neglecting to meet the needs of the elderly in this country. A portion of the profits from my new company will go towards supporting the work of this foundation.
Q - What type of activities will the foundation fund or support?
A - While we have just started, I envision that the foundation will someday help those organizations who provide care to seniors in need, organizations such as Meals On Wheels and The Salvation Army. As it grows the foundation may be able to support the building of decent housing for seniors, or help in providing caregivers.
Q - How did you become interested in this cause, the needs of the elderly?
A - I lost my mother about 6 years ago and have had my father living here with my husband and myself since then. He will be 93 years old this March. While he has some good days and some bad days, I've learned first hand how caring for the elderly affects the lives of caregivers. I've learned how expensive healthcare, medications, and housing is for the elderly. There is a crisis in this country, we have a large number of older people who don't have adequate housing, and there is s serious shortage of people to care for them. Over the years I have made a number of friends who are older than myself. As they have become older and more needy, I have helped to care for them. One woman in particular comes to mind. She had been a wealthy woman, but when she needed nursing home care she quickly went through her savings. Her care cost over $10,000 a month. She is now in a Medi-Cal bed in a nursing home, and dependent on the State for her care. It is a serious and critical situation.
Q - Your company Lavender By Rona will help support the foundation, tell us about your company and products.
A - We had been looking at growing something here on our property, and I knew I didn't want to grow grapes. I could see how well the ornamental lavender did here, so I did some research to see if lavender was something that I could develop into some marketable products. We were able to find lavender that we could develop into both beauty products and into food products. We presently have about 5 acres of lavender growing, and we have been certified organic. We use no pesticides on our crop. We have developed a line of bath and beauty products. We also worked with a food engineer to develop a line of food products.
Q - I've never heard of lavender as being edible, can you tell me about your food products?
A - Developing food products from lavender was not easy and required a lot of testing. Lavender has so many healing properties that I felt that it would work well in foods where we could retain its beautiful scent and benefits. We presently have 7 food products that include applesauce, tea, spices and chocolate. These products will be introduced at the 2001 Fancy Food show in San Francisco.
Q - Thank you for talking to me Ms. Barrett, I wish you well. Your foundation hopefully will give some well needed publicity to the plight of seniors in this country.
A - My hope is that the Rona Barrett Foundation will be able to help those who have made this country what it is. I want to help those who have helped me so much in my life.
