Community Foundation awards $500,000 to 21 groups


By Ivette M. Yee
Staff Writer

July 22, 2005

Tell a joke, build trust. Tell a joke, save a life.

Neighborhood health advisers at the Intercultural Family Health Education Center take that approach daily to screen hundreds of Haitian families for high blood pressure and diabetes, ailments that have dramatically increased in minorities in the last decade.

The 11-year-old nonprofit group will be able to reach more people thanks to a $14,000 donation by the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties. The grant will help pay the salary for an additional health adviser.

Since January, the Community Foundation has given more than half a million dollars to 21 groups whose goals include better education, enriching the lives of children and families, and economic and community development.

The recent grants are the catalyst for several new programs aiming to build better communities.

"It was an impressive group of projects," said Linda Raybin, vice president for programs at the Community Foundation. "We have both small, grassroots organizations and the longer, more-established organizations making a difference in many ways and in different fields. It shows that people who have a broad range of needs can find help."

The Resource Depot in Riviera Beach is one of the smaller groups to get a grant. It was awarded $25,000 for the creation of nine patch quilts by artists of all ages using recycled materials.

Another $25,000 was given to the American Lung Association for Southeast Florida for the Glades Asthma Project, which offers asthma education and helps sufferers in Pahokee, Belle Glade and unincorporated western areas manage the ailment.

"We have to raise funds to keep this program going, so the Community Foundation grant is important to us," said Carol Boyd, a registered nurse and program director. "About 6 million people under the age of 18 have asthma. It's the leading cause of school absenteeism due to a chronic illness. Asthma is not something you can cure, but it is something you can control."

Thanks to a $23,000 grant, seniors and teens will be working to kick off the "Together We Prepare T.A.S.K Force Project," a program by the American Red Cross that will teach 1,000 people emergency skills such as CPR and basic first-aid next month. The program also hopes to help bridge the gap between seniors and teens.

"There is a disconnect between generations, which can lead to lack of understanding," said Linda Olson, director of Safety, Education and Outreach at the American Red Cross Greater Palm Beach Area Chapter. "By training adults and teens, side by side, we are closing the generation gap while equipping our residents with valuable information."

For the West Palm Beach-based Intercultural Family Health Education Center, sharing information about diet and healthy lifestyles with Haitian families is a daily mission. Staff members go door to door to provide screenings.

For many Haitian families, rice and beans are part of a daily meal. But eaten in large quantities with fatty foods, they're also a contributor to high blood pressure and diabetes, health officials say.

"We use humor when we teach," Yanick Abellard, executive director of the health education center said. "To reach the minority community, you have to go out to them, they have to accept you and let you come into their home. It's like bringing flowers.

"This is very important because people don't come to you."

Ivette M. Yee can be reached at imyee@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6538.



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