Fall/Winter 2006 Community Service Projects


GANS projects for this year are up and running… but
WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP!

Community Service ... What Can You/ Your School Do?

Community service can be a valuable tool for your school of nursing (SON), especially when used to promote community health. Don’t be afraid or overwhelmed. Once you get started, you will be amazed at how much easier it is than you though it would be to organize service events!
There are many ways to get involved!
Here is a basic guide to help you get started:

• If you do not have a Community Service Director or Liaison on your SON Board… Get one. If you have one, great!
• Do a quick survey.  Find out what sorts of service activities or community health issues are important to your students. Find out what needs there are in your local community.
• Look in the community. Ask professors and community resources about opportunities and needs.
• Make a plan. Service can be sustainable and involve long-term partnerships (2-3 nursing students to a site every other week for example) or may be shorter, one-time events. One time events may be repeated annually, such as an annual breast cancer walk each spring or fall.

Some resources/ links and ideas for community service:

For Long Term Partnerships~

• Boys and Girls Club of America: http://www.bgca.org/
Mentor a child, have a Christmas, other holiday party with your local Club
• Local High School Health Clubs
• International Refugee Center (IRC)
• Local Elementary School After-school Clubs
• MedShare International: http://www.medshare.org/
• Healthcare Professionals for a Healthy GA: http://www.healthyga.org

Semester Service Projects~

• Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/services/nursing/0,1082,0_327_,00.html
Red Cross Disaster Relief or Community Health Representatives Training
Set up a blood drive at your school.
• Bone Marrow Registry
• Map International
• Hands On Atlanta: http://www.handsonatlanta.org/

Hands on Atlanta (HOA) Day
Lead a HOA service project in a local hospital

• Martin Luther King Service Summit
• National Youth Service Day
• Volunteer Match Website: http://www.volunteermatch.org/
• Meals-on-Wheels, Atlanta, GA: http://www.projectopenhand.org/ 
• Breast Cancer or Alzheimer’s Walk
• Health Students Taking Action Together
(HealthSTAT): http://hstatweb.org/inside%20HSTAT.htm
Lobby your congressperson—join HSTAT in seeking access to health care for uninsured Georgians
Work on AIDS/ HIV awareness
Learn about childhood obesity issues and what you can do

Community Health… What Can You/ Your School Do?

• Statewide Community Health Project Focusing on Child Health and Obesity~

One important way that we, as nursing students, can incorporate community service into our lives while making a health impact in our communities is through committing ourselves to a community health project. Obesity is a serious threat to our nation’s communities and health care systems, increasing the risk for a number of serious health problems such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, hypertension, osteoarthritis, and certain cancers. In 2002, 59% of adults in Georgia were overweight or obese, and the number is rising.
Being an overweight or obese child, however, has a unique and devastating impact on growth, development, and health. In Georgia, the number of children who are overweight between the ages of 2-5 years has increased 60% over the past decade. In 2002, 26% of children 2-5 years old enrolled in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program were found to be at risk of being overweight or obese. In Georgia middle schools, 33% of students 11-14 years old and 26% of high school students aged 14-18 years were found to be at increased risk for overweight or obesity in 2003.  
 We are in the midst of an epidemic, and the importance of joining together as nursing students in Georgia to try and reduce the burdens of being overweight or obese on the children and youth of Georgia should be made a priority community health initiative. GANS is in the process of establishing strategic partnerships with other organizations that focus on reducing childhood obesity. THIS IS WHERE YOU COME IN! We will be in contact with our member schools to share the resources that we gather and we ask that each school commit to finding a way that they can help battle this epidemic. Our goal is for each school to coordinate at least one service event before the end of the 2006-2007 school year in support of this cause.
Contact Becky at ganscommunity@yahoo.com to discuss the options that best work for the GANS members at your school.   
Important Links and References:
• We Can! Website:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/index.htm
• Georgia’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Guide (pdf):
http://health.state.ga.us/pdfs/familyhealth/nutrition/NutritionandPhysicalActivityPlanFINAL.pdf

So, Come on Georgia Nursing Students! Lets all make a plan to strive for at least a one-time service project each semester and one long-term partnership for every SON.
 
And… Don’t forget to be sure that your SON submits applications for the “Chapter of the Year” award or the “Community Service” award for next year’s convention!

Who’s on board?

(Last but not least) A Look Forward…

• Sign up to receive GANS/NSNA Community Service Event information by emailing Becky Carbley at community@ganursingstudents.org to be added to our distribution list.

• GANS Community Service Feature~  Make it your school!

South GA College recently collected almost two car loads of toys for Magnolia House, a shelter for battered and abused women and children.

GANS Chapters: GANS would like to feature the community service work that each of our member schools is participating in with other GANS members… Please submit a monthly or bi-monthly list of your schools activities (including number of nursing students involved, number of hours spent at the project, and a brief description of the activity, need met, and success)!! Submit to ganscommunity@yahoo.com. We love pictures too.

Contact Information
If you would like help facilitating a service project at your school or have any questions, please contact Becky Carbley, Community Service Director 2006-2007.
Phone: 443-528-3601
E-mail: community@ganursingstudents.org