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ARC NEWS ROUNDUP | FEBRUARY 8, 2018 | VOLUME 3, ISSUE 6
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Kentucky's ARC Alternate Sandy Dunahoo, center, and Health Program Manager Eric Stockton, right, along with Jen Algire, President and CEO of the Greater Clark Foundation in Winchester, Kentucky, participated in the Appalachia Health Investment Design Forum.
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Finding Better Ways to Invest in Health
Last month, more than 30 public, private, and non-profit stakeholders from Appalachia and beyond took part in the Appalachia Health Investment Design Forum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's office in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Forum was part of efforts to spur private investment in the social determinants of health in Appalachia. A recently released ARC study found that the average adult in the Appalachian Region reports feeling physically unhealthy 14 percent more often than the average American. These and other health disparities have been well documented by ARC, and many efforts are under way to improve health behaviors and healthcare access in our rural communities.
There is growing agreement that more work is also needed to get at the root causes of poor health, such as poverty, inadequate housing, or poor transportation access. These root causes -- the social determinants of health -- have potential to attract coordinated public and private investment. During the Charlotte meeting, a cross-sector group worked on mapping the links between rural community leaders and investors, and identifying barriers that hamper investment. Follow-up work will consider the capacity of community institutions to contribute investment-ready projects to the public and/or private funding pipeline.
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The Imagine the Possibilities Career Expo, held each year in Tupelo, Mississippi, exposes students to career pathway options and opportunities.
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Award-Winning Career Expo Helps Mississippi Students Find Career Pathways
Congratulations to the Imagine the Possibilities Career Expo, which recently won the Mississippi Economic Development Council’s Community Economic Development Award (CEDA). This award recognizes exceptional contributions of communities in the State of Mississippi for the following efforts: business retention & expansion, business recruitment, community development and community involvement.
Imagine the Possibilities is an interactive career expo designed for 8th graders in northeast Mississippi, including sixteen ARC counties. Sponsored by the Toyota Wellspring Education Fund at CREATE Foundation and supported by ARC and the Mississippi Development Authority, seventy-four schools bring approximately 7,200 students over the annual three-day event in October. Using the US Department of Education’s Career Pathways model adopted by the Mississippi Department of Education, Imagine the Possibilities pairs workforce development education activities and experiential learning with curricula available to public schools in the state. Under the guidance of an experienced “Pathfinder,” each student is exposed to several career options, including but not limited to aerospace, agriculture, food & natural resources; finance; health science; information technology; manufacturing; and transportation. The Career Pathway initiative consists of partnerships among community colleges, primary and secondary schools, workforce and economic development agencies, employers, and social service providers.
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Change Of Mined: Study Highlights Appalachia’s Tough Task Ahead, Ohio Valley ReSource
New Wave of Lavender Farmers Hope to Revive Barren Stripmines into Fields of Purple, West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Dream It Do It launches ‘Girls in Manufacturing’, Olean Times Herald, Olean, New York
Logistics training center nears completion at former Brookwood High School, Tuscaloosa News, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Regional commission awarded for innovation in renovating Lake Lanier Olympic Park, The Gainesville Times, Gainesville, Georgia
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