The following bulletin includes information regarding the Well Connected Communities initiative for the week of October 12, 2020:
In this Edition
- Community Health Action Plans
- Youth Voice and Leadership
- PD and Coaching
- FOURWARD Fund PYD Awards
- News, Research, and Resources from the Field
Community Health Action Plans
- All communities that submitted an action plan should have received their feedback summaries by September 30, 2020. If your community submitted an action plan and did not receive a feedback summary by September 30, 2020, please let Shay know as soon as possible. As your efforts continue, the PD team is happy to connect to provide guidance and learn from you about the ways in which your goal connects to policies and systems in community. We encourage you to review this feedback with your partners and update your action plan as needed. Please plan to upload your updated action plan to your community portal by November 30, 2020. If you are interested in discussing the feedback or receiving additional support as you update your action plan, please contact Shay McNeil at smcneil@fourhcouncil.edu.
Youth Voice and Leadership
- Youth Mental Health Peer Circle
Youth Presenter: Sophia Rodriquez – Sophia is a junior at the University of Georgia and the 2018 Healthy Living Youth in Action Award winner. Her platform was mental health and helping others learn to cope with mental health issues in their families.
Mental health is important at every stage of life. This peer session on mental health will explore the impact of mental health from youth and adult perspectives. Beyond the examining the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of youth and adults alike, we will be learning from our peers their experience and opportunities available to lead people to mental well-being. Sophia Rodriquez, 2018 4-H Youth in Action: Healthy Living will co-present and co-facilitate this session. The following topics will be discussed:
- What do youth have to say about mental health; learn about the results of a recent Youth Mental Health Survey that included the effects of COVID-19 on how youth see their own mental health during this time
- Opportunities to engage community members to destigmatize public health crisis on the mental health of teens- from the perspective of teens themselves.
- What do WCC youth and adult community leaders have to say about this public health issue and what they can do within their own communities to open up dialogue about mental health.
If you have the opportunity, we invite you to view Part 1 and Part 2.
The slide deck for both session is attached.
PD and Coaching
- Youth-Adult Volunteer Leadership Office Hours
Office hours will be held on Tuesday, October 20 from 1:30 – 2:30 PM EST to entertain questions about Youth-Adult Partnerships or Master Volunteers. The specific sub-topic for Master Volunteers will be how to communicate impact when working with these highly trained volunteers. When you register, if you have specific questions, please enter them so they are sure to be addressed.
- Thriving Together: Recovery & Resilience during and post-COVID 19 Webinar
November 12, 2020, 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET
This session will focus on the healing, recovery and resilience in two areas of WCC initiative—youth and communities—especially during COVID but looking ahead post-COVID.
- Youth: The 4-H Thriving Model by Dr. Mary Arnold will focus on capacity building around programs and activities that promote thriving youth especially during COVID and a post-COVID world. Mary Arnold is Director, Youth Development Research and Practice at National 4-H Council. She currently teaches at Oregon State University on 4-H Youth Development. Dr. Arnold developed the 4-H Thriving Model which describes the processes to support positive youth development in 4-H.
- Community: Well Being Trust will present practical actions for communities across America who want to heal through the trauma of COVID-19 and secure vital conditions for people and places to thrive. Our guest speaker will highlight actions to accelerate an equitable recovery and build resilience over time.
Learning objectives include:
- Application of understanding of how 4-H helps young people thrive to shape recruitment and engagement of youth in WCC coalitions.
- Identify opportunities that will foster inclusivity and diversity among 4-H youth.
- Support communities in reaching beyond learning outcomes to probing into “what happens” especially in a COVID and post-COVID world.
- Learn practical actions that are consistent with determinants of health for an equitable recovery and resilience during COVID and post-COVID.
FOURWARD Fund PYD Awards
- We are pleased to share some exciting updates regarding the FOURWARD Fund Positive Youth Development (PYD) Awards. National 4-H Council has successfully raised additional funding ($160,000) to underwrite a second round of FOURWARD Fund PYD Awards. As a reminder,100% of this amount will go to state and local 4-H programs rather than the 70/30 split that was initially announced in April.
Applications for the second round of funding will be available on 4-H.org/ApplyFourward on September 30 at 9:00 am ET. The application period will remain open until October 19 at 11:59 pm ET.
For more information about how to submit a successful application for the PYD Awards, please reference the following:
- View the recording and download the presentation from the Positive Youth Development Q&A session held on June 4.
- Download an updated version of the PYD Awards Q&A
- Download the Overview of the Eight Essential Elements of Positive Youth Development to help inform your application
The application process is consistent with the approach followed in June, with the addition of a diversity, equity and inclusion question. Programs that applied during the first round but were not awarded funding are permitted to revise and resubmit their applications in October.
Thank you to ADM, Crop Risk Services, Corteva, Microsoft and Tractor Supply Company for providing their generous support – making this next round of PYD awards possible.
Please direct any questions about the FOURWARD Fund Positive Youth Development (PYD) Awards to Jeanine Goldsmith or Nina Lovelace.
News, Research and Resources from the Field:
- NEW Schools as Nutrition Hubs Grant Opportunity
Deadline to apply is Oct 28, 2020
No Kid Hungry is partnering with the School Nutrition Foundation to support the efforts of school nutrition departments that are working with community organizations, i.e. non-profits and out-of-school time providers, or building new partnerships to ensure kids get the food they need. Grants of up to $50,000 will be given to facilitate partnerships with community organizations to support joint efforts to ensure kids in their community have access to the federal meals programs, backpack programs and food pantries. This grant will also support the needs of school nutrition departments to run these programs.
Details:
- Eligibility Criteria: School districts that are currently working with community organizations, or intend to work with community organizations, to provide children in their communities with access to the federal meals programs, backpack programs or food pantries during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Length of Grant: November 15, 2020 – November 15, 2021
- Grant Amount: up to $50,000 awarded to school nutrition departments
- Proposals Due: October 28, 2020 by 11:59 p.m. ET
Download the RFP to find out more about the grant and how to apply!
The rate of U.S. adults who have obesity stands at more than 42%. This marks the first time the national rate has passed the 40% mark and is a 26% increase since 2008. Check out Trust for America’s Health’s State of Obesity report for additional information.
“Americans have been fed a false history.” That’s the message behind Illuminative’s Indigenous People’s Day Toolkit, which celebrates and honors Native people. Dive into the importance of celebrating and promoting this holiday here.
2nd Episode in 6-part series: Tues., Oct. 13, 2020, 12:00 p.m. EDT, Register here.
Research demonstrates that spirituality and religious belief can be a protective factor in the prevention of, and recovery from, mental illness. Learn more about programs that have translated this research into action and the importance of providing spiritual support for the clinicians themselves. Learn more about this series here and listen to prior episodes here.
NOT-MH-20-073 — The National Institute of Mental Health seeks time-sensitive input from all interested parties on the most innovative research and research priorities to improve mental health outcomes among racial/ethnic minority and health disparities populations. Learn more here. Response date: Oct. 30, 2020.
A new report from the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics compares 41 indicators of well-being in children by the type of community they live in. (These are metropolitan, nonmetropolitan, micropolitan, or rural, according to the Office of Management and Budget.) The brief finds that infant mortality rates were highest in rural counties (6.8 per 1,000). During the same time, the mortality rate for Hispanic and American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic infants was also higher for those living in rural counties than those living in micropolitan and metropolitan counties. Separately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Mental Health Treatment Among Children Aged 5-17 years, 2019, finding that as the level of urbanization decreased, the percentage of children who had taken medication for their mental health increased.
HRSA will release 2019 data from the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) on October 5, which is also National Child Health Day. The NSCH provides the latest national and state-level data on the health and health care needs of children as well as information about their families and communities.
Survey topics include:
- Children’s physical and mental health;
- Health insurance status;
- Access to and use of health care services, including:
- Receipt of preventive and specialty care;
- Patient-centered medical home; and
- Services to support transition to adult health care for adolescents;
- Lifetime exposure to adverse childhood experiences, and more.
The NSCH is funded and directed by HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, which oversees sampling, survey administration and the production of a final data set for public use. Look for the release on our social media channels (@HRSAgov), and like and share to show your support of Child Health Day.
- Deadline Approaching 2021 Culture of Health Prize
Call for Applications | Application Deadline: Thu, 15 Oct 2020
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Culture of Health Prize (the Prize) elevates the compelling stories of places where residents are working together to transform education, jobs, transportation, housing, and more so better health flourishes for all. A Culture of Health recognizes that where we live—such as our access to affordable homes, quality schools, good jobs, and reliable transportation—affects how long and how well we live.
Learn more about how you can be one of our next Culture of Health Prize-winning communities by reviewing an informational webinar recording and slides.