John Rex Endowment Awards Grants to Three Nonprofits to Support the Healthy Weight of Children
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Anita Blomme
anita.blomme@mindspring.com
919-673-9591
John Rex Endowment Awards Grants to Three Nonprofits to Support the Healthy Weight of Children
RALEIGH, N.C. (July 17, 2012) – The John Rex Endowment announces the approval of three healthy weight grants totaling more than $525,000. The Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education, the North Carolina State University Natural Learning Initiative, and WakeMed Health and Hospitals will receive grants for projects that include overweight and obesity prevention strategies focused on policy and environment changes, long-lasting preventive benefits, and wide public impact.
The Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education will receive $36,874 for a 12-month project to make necessary repairs and improvements and increase the availability and accessibility of the PlayWELL Park.
The Natural Learning Initiative, an outreach unit of the College of Design at North Carolina State University, has been awarded $423,740 for a three-year project that will address the obesity epidemic in young children attending child care by creating a multidisciplinary intervention to transform child care outdoor learning environments (OLEs) into active, productive best practice demonstrations sites.
WakeMed Health & Hospitals will receive $66,798 that will be administered to Advocates for Health in Action for a one-year project to assess the need and create a plan to improve access to healthy foods in Wake County child care facilities. Advocates for Health in Action will also explore ways to provide an affordable, convenient way for low-income families to purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables.
“Children’s activity levels and eating habits are heavily influenced by factors beyond their control,” said Kevin Cain, president and CEO of the John Rex Endowment. “Our investment in various healthy weight projects with specific strategies is founded in the understanding that there is no one single solution to the complex problem of childhood overweight and obesity.”
The John Rex Endowment has invested more than $6 million in the healthy weight of children and youth in Wake County. Grant support has been provided for innovative projects to create environments that encourage healthy choices, improve access to nutritious foods and increase opportunities for physical activity.
About the John Rex Endowment:
The John Rex Endowment invests in the development and support of activities, programs and organizations that improve the health of underserved children and youth in Wake County. To learn more, please visit www.rexendowment.org.
###
Poe Center Programs are aligned to the North Carolina Essential Standards
Throw those worries out the door!
by Seymour Poe
Poe Center programs are aligned to the North Carolina Essential Standards! Many may ask, “So what?” or “What does that mean?” The answer to that question goes back to June of 2010 when North Carolina became one of the first of 45 states to adopt the Common Core Standards for mathematics and English language arts. This Common Core was a state led initiative to ensure that students graduating from high school were equipped to enter college or the workforce with the skills they need to compete on a global level. As of the beginning of the current school year, North Carolina schools are adhering to this Common Core for math and English language arts. For all other subject areas – including healthful living – North Carolina has developed the North Carolina Essential Standards based on the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy. While many of the standards and objectives are similar to those found in the obsolete North Carolina Standard Course of Study, some marked differences do exist. Differences include some changes in grade level (i.e., an objective that was taught in the 4th grade will now be taught in 5th grade or vice versa), some objectives have been omitted, and some new clarifying objectives have been added. In general, changes focus on including actionable objectives that are based on the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy and reduction in ambiguous terminology.
Many parents and educators have expressed concern about the lack of teacher preparedness across academic disciplines to implement the Common Core and North Carolina Essential Standards. The Poe Center has been working diligently to ensure that Poe curriculum is ready to go for the 2012-2013 school year, so parents and teachers can count on Poe to deliver the same high quality health education programs they have come to know and love. Grade appropriate titles may be different than those you have selected in the past, and you may find some new activities included in the curriculum, but the same professional quality will be what you have come to expect from the Poe Center. If you have not scheduled your school field trip to or classroom visit from the Poe Center yet this year, you still have time! Contact Kate at k.mascho@poehealth.org or give her a call at 919-231-4006 ext. 399 to schedule. You may also schedule online at www.poehealth.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Poe Center’s Ann Rollins Named School Health Champion
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Natalie Best, 919-277-1173, nbest@fwv-us.com
Kate Mascho, 919-455-1616, k.mascho@poehealth.org
Poe Center’s Ann Rollins Named School Health Champion
Raleigh, NC (November 1, 2011) – The Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education is pleased to announce Ann Rollins, Executive Director, was honored at Saturday’s UNC – Wake Forest football game with the School Health Champion Award for July 2011. The School Health Champion honor is awarded to a healthy role model who demonstrates outstanding leadership in advancing school-based policies and programs improving the health of students and/or staff.
The School Health Champion Award is a collaborative effort among NC Healthy Schools at the NC Department of Public Instruction, Tar Heel Sports Properties and Subway. Rollins was awarded a plaque for her achievement and a check for $500 to be used by The Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education to continue its efforts in promoting healthy lifestyle choices. She is now in the running for the School Health Champion of the Year Award to be chosen in December 2011.
Rollins was selected for her leadership and true passion for educating and empowering North Carolina children, youth and their families to make choices that increase positive health behaviors. “Ann’s dedication to the Poe Center’s mission has been a driving force behind our efforts in health education. Her excitement and passion to reach North Carolina’s youth as well as their families is evident in all she does,” said Poe Center Board of Directors President, Julie Newman.
Rollins has worked at the Poe Center since May 2010 when she stepped into the interim Executive Director. Since July 2011, she has held the role of Executive Director. Rollins is involved in multiple healthful living initiatives across the state including the N.C. School Health Connection, Wake County’s School Health Advisory Council (SHAC), the Wake County Obesity Summit Planning Committee, Strengthening Proactive Leadership Alliances for School Health (SPLASH), and more.
About the Poe Center
The Poe Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to positively impacting the lives of North Carolina youth through health education. Since opening in Raleigh in 1991, the Poe Center has educated more than 850,000 participants from 76 counties using innovative teaching theaters, exhibits and offsite programs. For additional information or to schedule a visit, go to www.poehealth.org. Find the Poe Center on Facebook at www.facebook.com/poecenter or follow Poe on Twitter at @PoeCenter.
###
POE GOES INTERNATIONAL!
POE GOES INTERNATIONAL!
Poe goes to Haiti, to EBAC Orphanage in Cap Hatien. Over the summer, Poe Center Health Educator Pat Ely was part of a mission trip to Haiti where she taught effective hand washing and healthy dental habits with the aid of Dugan, the dog puppet and the Sneeze video. The students were residents of an orphanage that houses children who are left homeless due to parent’s death or inability to care for them. They are all taught English and other subjects in the school by a wonderful volunteer and paid staff. The orphanage is part of a larger complex, consisting of a clinic, new university and multiple churches, founded and administrated by Pastor Cebien Alexis, who is also a medical doctor. The orphanage is run by Kathy Gauker and Alice Wise, 2 women who have devoted over 30 years to these children.
Rosalie Richardson Poe passed on September 22, 2011
Rosalie Richardson Poe, 94, of Raleigh died peacefully on September 22, 2011 after a short illness.
She was born in New Bern, NC on April 29, 1917, the daughter of Edwin Forrest Richardson and Glennie Willis Richardson.
As a young girl she enjoyed spending summers in Morehead City with her cousins on Shakleford St. She and Mary Anderson especially liked to speak the "High Tider" brogue of the locals. She attended New Bern schools and then Converse College in Spartanburg, SC. She was the Assistant Leader for Eastern North Carolina for the 1935 Debutante Ball.
After college Rosalie moved to Raleigh to work for Durham Life and met her future husband William D.(Boss) Poe who was an editor for The Progressive Farmer magazine. They married in 1941 and lived at the Poe family home "Longview" while William served with the US Army during World War II. They later built a home nearby on the farm and raised their young family. They participated in Raleigh's civic and social events, especially enjoying the Capital Cotillion Club parties with their friends. When William died suddenly in 1958 she moved her family into town and worked for Drs. Root, Bugg and Sanders pediatricians and served as Vice President of Longview Gardens, Inc. In 1968 Rosalie married Royce O. Johnson of Pine Bluff, Arkansas and moved there to live where she made many friends. They traveled abroad several times and enjoyed taking their houseboat, "The R & R" on trips along the Arkansas River. Each spring was spent going to the horse races in Hot Springs.
After Royce's death in 1988 she returned to Raleigh to be closer to her children and grandchildren. She was fortunate to re-join her old book and bridge clubs, catching up on what had been going on in Raleigh while she was away. She also continued her membership in the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America and the Carolina Country Club.
Rosalie is survived by her two children, Jean Poe Martin and William D. Poe, Jr., wife, Judy, of Raleigh; Royce's daughter, Leslie Johnson Alexander, husband, Robert of Aiken, SC; daughter-in-law, Karen Killick Johnson of Pine Bluff, AR; niece, Peggy Richardson Sarvis of Pinehurst, NC. She was a devoted and loving grandmother who was affectionally called "Dear" by her grandchildren. They are Mary-Hunter Martin; Allison Poe Larson, and husband, David, William D. Poe, III, wife, Chaney, & John-Thomas Hobby Poe, all of Raleigh. Susan Martin Covington, and husband, Tom of Wilmington, NC. Ann-Scott Martin Mancuso of Morehead City, NC; Jeanie Poe Wrenn, husband, John of Mt. Pleasant, SC; Martin Johnson of Pine Bluff, AR: Kathryn Johnson Smith, husband Gary of Atlanta, GA;. Robert Alexander of Folly Beach, SC. She is also survived by 15 great-grandchildren.
She was predeceased by her brother Edwin Forrest Richardson, Jr.; her niece and namesake Rosalie Richardson DeBrito and her step-son Royce Overton Johnson, Jr.
The family wishes to thank Lekita Essa and her staff, especially Rachel, Mary, Senekay and Susan for their loving care and attention. Special thanks also to Adrianne Dunn whose help and 30 year relationship meant so much.
There will be a private burial Saturday morning September 24th at Historic Oakwood Cemetery followed by a memorial service at 11:00 a.m. at Christ Episcopal Church, 120 E. Edenton St. in Raleigh. The family will receive friends in the church parlor immediately after the service.
In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education, 224 Sunnybrook Rd., Raleigh, NC 27610 or to Hospice of Wake County, Inc., 250 Hospice Circle, Raleigh, NC 27607.
Arrangements by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, Saint Mary's St. Raleigh.