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 CommonGood E-NewsWhat's happening in social justice, social action and community outreach in Dare and Currituck Counties CommonGood Web
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Outer Banks Hotline Looking for Volunteers
 Hotline offers safe shelter, safety planning/risk assessment, court advocacy, support groups, and more for survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. It responds to medical or law enforcement settings to accompany and advocate on behalf of sexual assault victims and supports a 24/7 crisis telephone answered by trained volunteers or staff. It provide outreach education seeking to end domestic and sexual abuse, bullying, and other violence and sponsors batterer intervention in Dare County Hotline Volunteer s may - Answer the crisis line from their home--Crisis line training begins on Sat, March 26, 2011.
- Attend District Court as a Hotline volunteer offering assistance and information when called on by the prosecutor, judge, or court peronnel--Training date to be announced.
- Work in Hotline Thrift Shops located on Hatteras Island and in Manteo, Nags Head, and Kitty Hawk.
Call Outer Banks Hotline 252-473-5121 for information ask for Denise Temple |
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Promote Your Cause in Green
It's the 22nd Annual Kelly's St. Patrick's Parade Sunday, March 20th at 1pm. This year's theme is a "Celebration of Anniversaries" recognizing the Town of Nags Head's 50th Anniversary and Soaring 100 the Centennial of Orville Wright's 1911 world record soaring/glider flight.
The parade includes 1,200-1,500 participants and draws 8,000-10,000 spectators. The one mile parade begins at Bladen St/MP 11.5 to MP 10.5 on the Beach Road, NC 12, Va Dare Trail. The parade returns to the "old" route ending at Driftwood.
The tradition continues with the post parade party at Kelly's.
Use your imagination, green, irish, clovers, and promote your good work.
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Literacy Tutor Training Workshop March 12
The Dare Literacy Council is in need of voluntee r tutors. Tutors are trained to teach adults to learn to read, to improve their reading or math skills, to learn English as a Second Language or to prepare for their GED (high school equivalency). No teaching experience or second language skills are necessary. Once trained, tutors will either work one-on-one with a student or in a class situation with small groups. Tutoring takes place at various locations throughout the beach and every effort is made to comply with a tutor's request for time and location.
The Tutor Training Workshop will take place on Saturday, March 12 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at All Saints Episcopal Church in Southern Shores. There is a $25 fee which covers the cost of the tutor workbook and lunch is provided. If interested in becoming a tutor, please register as soon as possible by calling (252) 216-7773 or emailing dareliteracy@gmail.com.
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New Patient Advocacy Foundation
 The mission of the Patient Advocacy Foundation is to provide effective mediation and arbitration services to patients to remove obstacles to healthcare including medical debt crisis, insurance access issues and employment issues for patients with chronic, debilitating and life-threatening illnesses.
The Outer Banks Office office is here to assist the community of Dare County in
those services.If a patient has a chronic, debilitating or life threatening illness and needs assistance with insurance issues i.e. underinsured, uninsured, insurance appeals or needs assistance applying for SSI/SSDI; or assistance with job retention issues related to their illness, or with debt crisis related to their condition, a PAF case manager will negotiate, mediate and arbitrate as necessary to try to assist in resolving these issues.
Patients can call 800-532-5274 ext.1286 for the local office here in the Baum Center or they can call the same number without the extension and reach the main intake office in Hampton Va. where their case will then be assigned to a case manager unless they request the Dare County office case manager (Tracey C. Rock, RN) specifically. Patients are welcome to come to the office at the Baum Center as well, Monday through Friday from 8:30 am until 4:30 pm.  |
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Healthy Habits, Healthy Families with WIC
 More families than ever are finding it hard to put healthy food on their dinner tables. For young children, a lack of good nutrition can put them at risk for health problems. The Dare County Department of Public Health's Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) program helps low-income families meet the nutritional needs of pregnant and post-partum women, infants and children up to the age of 5. WIC also addresses the health and social issues that affect maternal and child well being such as immunizations, health care, substance abuse, and homelessness. The WIC staff works to identify community resources and make referrals to help families find assistance for these issues.The Dare WIC Program currently serves an average of 892 participants each month. WIC is available at the Dare County Department of Public Health with offices in Manteo, Kill Devil Hills, and Frisco. If you have questions about healthy food options, call the WIC office at (252) 475-5068 to schedule an appointment or speak to a nutritionist. Eligibility for the WIC program is based on the following criteria: � Women must be pregnant, post-partum, or breastfeeding � Children must be under the age of five � Families must reside in North Carolina (Migrants are eligible if they reside in North Carolina) and meet the financial eligibility requirements set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)  Research Proves suggests that women who participate in WIC have improved pregnancy outcomes, resulting in healthier babies and reduced newborn medical costs. This benefits the infants and saves Medicaid millions of dollars in intensive neonatal care. Other studies' findings show that: - Newborn intensive care costs $2.4 billion, or about $15,000 a baby. The average cost of WIC benefits for a pregnant woman is less than $250 (source, 1985).
- Children who participate in WIC were more likely to receive regular preventive health services and were better immunized than children who did not participate in WIC (National WIC Evaluation, 1987).
- North Carolina Medicaid costs dropped by an estimated $744 for the first 50 days of life. In other words, for every dollar spent on prenatal WIC participation, North Carolina saved $3.90 in newborn Medicaid costs (WIC Medicaid Evaluation, 1992).
- WIC benefits improved the quality of diet among infants and preschool children in the WIC Program (National WIC Evaluation, 1987).
- WIC provides quality, cost-effective care to hundreds of thousands of North Carolina women, infants, and children.
Benefits to Women and Newborns- WIC saves public health care dollars. In North Carolina, every WIC dollar spent on a pregnant woman saves $3.13 in Medicaid costs during the first 60 days of the infant's life.
- WIC participation significantly increases the number of women receiving adequate prenatal care.
- WIC dramatically lowers infant mortality by about 25% to 66% among Medicaid beneficiaries who participated in WIC, compared to Medicaid beneficiaries who did not participate in WIC.
- WIC improves the dietary intake of pregnant and postpartum women. It also improves weight gain in pregnant women.
- WIC participation decreases the incidence of low bir
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th weight by 3.3% and lowers pre-term births by 3.5%. - Women who received Medicaid benefits and prenatal WIC services had substantially lower rates of low and very low birth weight than did women who received Medicaid but not prenatal WIC.
Benefits to Children
- WIC lowers the rate of anemia among participating children ages six months to five years.
- The data shows an average decrease in the anemia rate of more than 16% for each year from 1980 to 1992. WIC significantly improves children's diets, particularly when it comes to vitamins and nutrients including iron, vitamin C, thiamin, protein, niacin, and vitamin B6.
- Four and five year-olds who participate in WIC in early childhood have better vocabularies and digit memory scores than comparable children who do not participate in WIC.
- WIC participation leads to higher rates of immunization against childhood diseases.
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A collection of photos, graphics and words.Recent Posts
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Volunteer Opportunities
 Volunteer at the Beach Food Pantry There are many ways to become involved in helping the Beach Food Pantry. We are open Monday through Friday from 2 pm to 4 pm. If you would like to volunteer to help clients during these hours, please contact a coordinator from a participating church listed on the Supporting Members page
Youth Partnership for Dare County is looking for caring volunteers to tutor at-risk preschool children using the WINGS preschool literacy program. WINGS volunteers will play literacy-based games at least once a week, focusing on memory, comprehension, problem-solving, creative thinking, and decision-making. The typical time spent volunteering each week is 1-2 hours. For more information, please contact Carla Heppert at 252-441-0614 or email her at wings@darekids.org. Children and Youth Partnership is a non-profit organization serving children, youth, and families in Dare County. The Partnership administers the state Smart Start program for Dare County for children birth through age 5 and is a central source of information about activities, programs and resources for children
Children at Play - the Outer Banks Children's Museum is looking for volunteers! We are looking for individuals who would be interested in assisting in building, painting or creating new exhibits. Exhibits are designed to teach and inspire young children in our community. This is a fun and rewarding volunteer opportunity. If interested, please contact us at the museum at 261 0290. Children at Play is a locally founded 501(c)(3) non profit organization.
The Dare Literacy Council is looking for volunteers to help with fundraising, administrative tasks, publicity, and tutor/student support. If you have an education background, volunteers are needed to help with assessing students and developing tutor seminars. If you are fluent in Spanish, help is needed communicating with students. The DLC is an all-volunteer organization so as little as one hour is a tremendous boost to helping the DLC continue to serve the community. To volunteer, call Marian at (252) 261-6940, email dareliteracy@gmail.com or visit dareliteracy.orgThe Senior Nutrition's Home Delivered Meals Program serves seniors 60 years or older, homebound and unable to prepare a nutritious meal. The Albemarle Commission needs volunteers to deliver meals to seniors in Manteo and in the beach area, Monday through Friday. If you can share one hour a month to assist with meal distribution, please contact Mary Jernigan at (252)475-5637 at the Baum Center or Sandra Cantrell- Bush at (252)473-9279 at the Dare County Center. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, a partnering church or civic/community organization with Respite Care, please contact, Stephanie Bowers, Program Coordinator at (252) 475-5028.
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 Need Volunteers?
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Greetings!
I apologize for the spacing on the articles below. I realize the right margin is cutting off some of the copy. I ran out of time to fix it. I had to weigh what was more important: fixing the right margin or attending Gavin's two year old birthday party. Hands down, I'm going for the birthday hugs, cake, and good times.
Nancy |
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Focus on People
with Disabilities
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Please Get to Know Me
 We are the Monarch Beach Club of Dare and The Currituck ADAP and we love doing things to help our community. Some people look at us and think, "how sad...what can I do to help them..." we look back and say "please get to know me...please see me for who I truly am...please see that I am a person of integrity and grace...please see that I have so much to offer and am so excited about life..."
The Monarch Beach Club of Dare and The Currituck ADAP are "clubs" for people with intellectual and or developmental disabilities. Club members range in age from 18 and up and during summer months, we invite our younger friends, starting at age 16, to come and join in our antics, joys and learning experiences.
For too long, we have not had a voice or a face and the world has missed out...but...no longer...we are here to show our stuff...ask the Master Gardeners, ask the SPCA, ask the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum and many other programs and or organizations we have volunteered for how committed and hard working we are...they will tell you.
If you want to find out more about us, please call Renate Macchirole at 252-256-0347 or email her at renate.macchirole@monarchnc.org. We would love to hear from you!!!
 Monarch provides support and resources to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental illness, and substance abuse issues throughout North Carolina. Monarch is a nonprofit and is an affiliated chapter of The Arc of North Carolina and The Arc of the United States. To learn more about how Monarch helps "dreams take flight" for people living in our communities, please call 1-800-230-7525 or visit online at www.MonarchNC.org.
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Volunteer for the Nature Conservancy
TNC needs help bagging oyster shells and building oyster reefs in the Pamlico Sound as part of our climate change and sea-level rise adaptation work.
Nags Head Woods: Feb 26, March 7-11, March 26, April 9 - 8:30am - 12:30pm
The work days w ill be held at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. Volunteers should report at 8:30 a.m. to the refuge kiosk located of Highway 64 at Milltail Road. Volunteers can expect to spend three to four hours on site.
Work days are open to most people. Past work days have included elementary school  children, but the work can be hot or cold depending on the season and it does require some lifting. Participants should wear close-toed shoes, long pants, long-sleeved shirts, hats, and bring water and a snack. The Conservancy will provide work gloves and other materials.
Please contact
Background Information: Since 2002, The Nature Conservancy has helped to construct over 65 acres of oyster reef in the Pamlico Sound. It is estimated that today's oyster reefs in the Pamlico Sound only cover about 50 percent of the area where they once existed. Oyster reefs are vital to the Sound's health. One oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day, helping clean the water. The reefs also provide valuable habitat for other animals including fish, shrimp, clams and blue crabs and help protect the shore from storm activity.
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Community Health Assessment of Dare County
 Over the past year, the Dare County Department of Public Health and Healthy Carolinians of the Outer Banks have completed a comprehensive Community Health Assessment of Dare County. This assessment provides information about what residents in our community live with and die from, and sheds light on areas that need to improve in order to positively impact the health status of our community. It gives insight on the overall health of our community, both perceptual and data driven while serving as a tool for our community in planning activities around health promotion and disease prevention and for developing health resources within our community. Healthy Carolinians of the Outer Banks is a partnership as well as a process. The Partnership is coordinated by the Dare County Department of Public Health with representation and input from over 20 local organizations and agencies. The Healthy Carolinians process supports our community in mobilizing people
| | Complete details of assessment |
and resources to address community health challenges identified in the Community Health Assessment. A Community Health Assessment is a compilation of information from three contributing data sources. The first source compiles local statistics and then compares our local data to a peer county as well as state and national data. This serves as a benchmark for comparing our rankings to see how Dare County measures up. The next source is a community wide opinion survey of health perceptions about Dare County. In addition to surveying community residents, the assessment also includes interviews on the health status of our county with key community stakeholders, health care providers, and local organization representatives. | | Assessment Summary |
A p rofile has been published that provides highlights and summarizes information from the 2010 Community Health Assessment; a report that with community investment will help guide our community towards improved health,now and in the years ahead. Dare County is slightly older and less diversecompared with North Carolina. Our populationis expected to grow more than thirty two percent (32%) to 46,000 by 2030, from our current population of 35,263. Dare County is a healthy place to live. There are a few health challenges that exist in our community, and each presents an opportunity for us to work together to address the identified concerns. While you can get the entire assessment and the summary online, CommonGood will publish summary selections for the next few weeks. Gold Stars: "A Sense of Community" Many survey respondents describe a sense of village or a spirit of collaboration and helpfulness living in Dare County. Interviewees consistently expressed that the people of Dare County are its greatest asset, often described as "caring", "community-oriented", and "generous". Eighty four percent (84%) of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that there is "plenty of support during times of need". Those surveyed consider the current health and human service organizations in Dare to be a community strength and further identified a willingness towards inter-agency collaboration. Self Rated Health Dare County respondents perceive their personal health to be of good quality with sixty eight percent (68%) of residents rating themselves as "healthy" or "very healthy". This is supported by the fact that seventy seven percent (77%) of respondents reported engaging in thirty minutes of exercise activity in a normal week, with forty four percent (44%) of these being active 1-3 times per week and eighteen percent (18%) being active seven or more times per week. Sail on! "A Good Place to Raise Children" This shining star is one to celebrate, as our community perceives the quality of life to be positive with regard to this indicator. Many variables impact quality of life with "quality" being a perception which may be defined and interpreted differently. Our community has a shared perception on this, with eighty eight percent (88%) of respondents having agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that Dare County is a "good place to raise children". "A Good Place to Grow Old" Eighty four percent (84%) of respondents agreed with the statement that Dare County is a "good place to grow old". While this common perception is comforting and gives a sense that there is some balance between personal independence and adequate support for older adults currently, there are challenges ahead as our older adult population continues to grow and brings with it the unique health needs and issues of this population. |
Clear out those BookShelves
Time for spring-cleaning and reviewing all those books you were going to read again but didn't. Donate them to the Dare Literacy Council Book Sale. Couldn't be easier.
- New or used books in good condition are needed for our book sale.
- Books in all categories are needed, including children's books, videos, CDs, DVDs and audiobooks.
- Books can be dropped off at:
- Any Outer Banks Ace Hardware store
- Gateway Bank in Kitty Hawk
- Gateway Bank in Kill Devil Hills
- Gateway Bank in Nags Head
- Dare County Center in Manteo (in front of the Dare County Administration building across the street from CVS)
For more information, contact Ann.
Join us on Saturday, April 16 from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm for a fabulous book sale. The sale will take place at the Gateway Bank in Kitty Hawk, located in front of Walmart on US 158.
There will be a tremendous variety of books, both hardback and paperback, many in great condition. Offered at the sale will be:
- biographies and cookbooks
Check out the sale at BookSaleFinder.com. All proceeds from the book sale will help the DLC buy workbooks for their students and help support the DLC's literacy programs. Please join the Dare Literacy Council for a great event and help raise funds for an important need in our community.
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 The 2011 Ride to a Wish will be held on Saturday, April 16th starting atTyrrell Hall inColumbia, NC. The event promises a full day of fun, food and entertainment! The after party will include food and beverages, kids activities, custom car
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| | 2011 Ride To A Wish |
s, a monster truck, Scuppernong Idol Contest, live entertainment all day culminating in a performance by Frontiers, America's number one Journey Tribute band!Our goal this year is to grant four wishes, that's $26,000.00 which is daunting... but WE CAN DO IT!!!! TO ACCOMPLISH THIS, WE NEED MORE RIDERS AND MORE SPONSORS!!!! Bring one rider with you, if everyone that sacrificed last year and rode with us just brought one rider with them we would be at 60 riders. That opens the doors to a lot more potential sponsors!!! To help towards that end, we have added a 33 mile ride to the 50 and 100 to get more people involved. Motorcyclists Are Welcome! This year we will be allowing motorcyclists to join in on the 100-mile ride through scenic Tyrell County. Motorcyclists will depart at 2:00 p.m. All bikers are required to pay the same $20 registration fee as cyclists and raise at least $75 in donations. |
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Over 1300 people subscribe to CommonGood E-News. People who are actively engaged in our communities by serving as volunteers and paid professionals in a wide range of nonprofit organizations and government human services. CommonGood E-News is a great way to reach these wonderful and caring people. CommonGood does not cover politics. However, it will publish information about community and candidate forums. It will publish performing and visual arts where contributions are made to community outreach organizations. Congregational activities which serve the greater good are also covered. Events and Activities listed may not represent the position of the editor, every organization, sponsor or subscriber or even the publisher. Submissions and Press Releases are welcome. Please submit articles for publications plus attached photographs to nancy@obxcommongood.org by TUESDAY prior to publication date. I can also embed videos in the newsletter. Please do not submit a PDF file. I will try to work with it but it is very time consuming and the results are not very good. Blessings, Nancy Proctor  
This NEWSLETTER may contain copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. CommonGood is making this material available for educational purposes. I believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. |
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