| The March of Dimes Grants Program Invests $347,300 to Support Community-Based Maternal and Infant Health Projects to Improve Birth Outcomes in Georgia
ATLANTA, GA – May 16, 2006 - The March of Dimes Georgia Chapter announced today their 2006 community grant review results. Every year the March of Dimes invests funding in organizations with the capacity, competence and experience to implement projects that provide quality interventions for women and infants. In fact, in 2006, the March of Dimes Georgia Chapter is awarding $347,300 to 13 community organizations throughout the state.
The 2006 Community Grants Program has had an increase of more than $133,000 over 2005 due to successful fundraising efforts in 2005 from events such as the recent WalkAmerica campaign. March of Dimes funding priorities for 2006 are to increase access to and quality of health care for women and infants, availability of prevention services, and availability of genetics services and folic acid education. Within these funding priorities, some projects are focused on preventing premature births, which is in line with the national Prematurity Campaign the March of Dimes launched in 2003.
"The Georgia Chapter Community Grant’s Program is designed to invest in community projects that further the March of Dimes mission and support national campaign objectives," says Mary Margaret Finney, Chair of the March of Dimes Grants Committee. "Our thirteen grant recipients have the capacity and experience to address maternal and infant needs to ultimately improve the birth outcomes of Georgia’s babies."
The 2006 Georgia Chapter community grant recipients are as follows:
1. Grant Park Clinic, Promotora Program - $25,000
The Promotora program will extend the current prenatal education program. The Promotora, a bilingual lay health educator, will provide nutrition and folic acid education in the clinic and in the community as an extension of the current prenatal education program.
2. Athens Regional Foundation, CenteringPregnancy Program - $40,000
The CenteringPregnancy program will reach out to high-risk Latino pregnant women in the Athens area. The project will increase access to adequate, consistent, and quality prenatal care by breaking down barriers such as transportation, language, education and socioeconomic difficulties.
3. Refugee Family Services, Maternal Health Initiative - $37,000
The Maternal Health Initiative will provide prenatal risk assessments, pregnancy case management support and educational services for refugee women in metro Atlanta who are at high risk for preterm labor due to histories of physical trauma, poor nutrition, inadequate or no access to health care, high birth rates and/or low levels of education.
4. Georgia Folic Acid Coalition, Folic Acid Initiative - $16,829.50
The Georgia Folic Acid Coalition Folic Acid Initiative project will increase folic acid awareness, knowledge and consumption among college-aged women at the University of Georgia through the use of peer educators, educational materials and Student Health Center interventions.
5. Memorial Health University, Fetal Fitness Program - $15,489.50
The Fetal Fitness Program will target high-risk, overweight pregnant women and assist them with nutrition, physical activity and stress reduction to improve their birth outcomes.
6. Houston Healthcare, Middle Georgia Access to Care - $25,000
The Middle Georgia Access to Care project will increase access to perinatal services, improve the quality of prenatal care, and provide education to women in Houston, Peach, Bibb, Pulaski, and other surrounding middle Georgia counties.
7. Henry W. Grady Foundation, Inc., Centering Pregnancy Project - $47,850
Henry W. Grady Foundation will implement CenteringPregnancy for indigent Spanish-speaking immigrant women. The group care will provide culturally competent prenatal services, education, social support, and self-care activities that will promote increased satisfaction and participation in prenatal care, and will improve birth outcomes. In addition, an additional group session will address education and support issues for the early post-partum period.
8. West End Medical Center, Inc., Bilingual/Bicultural Prenatal Education - $14,700
The Bilingual/Bicultural Prenatal Education program will provide pregnant women in Sub-Saharan African communities living in Atlanta access to quality prenatal care and education to improve birth outcomes.
9. Coastal Coalition for Children, Embarazo Saludable Program - $34,090
The Embarazo Saludable (Healthy Pregnancy) program will utilize the March of Dimes Comenzando Bien curriculum to provide prenatal education, outreach and case management to Latino women in Glynn, Camden and McIntosh counties.
10. Saint Joseph’s Mercy Care Services, Inc., Perinatal Education Program, $40,000
The Perinatal Education Program will provide an opportunity for recently arrived pregnant Latino women in the Atlanta area to receive prenatal and infant care educations and resources for accessing available government assistance related to maternal and infant health.
11. Jackson County Health Department, The Cabbage Patch Program, $25,000
The Cabbage Patch Program will promote healthy pregnancies in high risk perinatal patients by focusing on case management, prenatal education classes, and prenatal appointment compliance.
12. Pickens County Council on Child Abuse, Healthy Families Home Visitation Program and Comenzando Bien Program, $16,341
The Healthy Families Home Visitation Program and Comenzando bien Program will offer prenatal education and intensive home visitation to high-risk pregnant women to improve birth outcomes.
13. Catoosa County Health Department, Baby Shower Program, $10,000
The Baby Shower Program will provide assistance to the Perinatal Case Management Program with prenatal education and strategies to improve prenatal care compliance.
The 2007 Chapter Community Grants Process has begun and applicants can access the letter of intent applicatios on the Georgia Chapter website at www.marchofdimes.com/georgia. Letters of intent are due June 5, 2006, and invitations to submit a full proposal are sent mid summer. Full proposals are due in early fall with notification of awards in January. Those interested in either a community award or a community grant should contact Alison Pierce Tolley, Associate Director of Program Services, 404 350-9800 x 218 or atolley@marchofdimes.com
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies and in 2003 launched a five-year campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at marchofdimes.com or its Spanish Web site at nacersano.org.
www.marchofdimes.com/georgia
Media Contact: Brittney Gray, Director of Communications, 404-350-9800 x 224 or bgray@marchofdimes.com
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