Scholarships and grants for nurses and teachers
Two members of Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club, Paul Calloway and Kimbre Frost, along with their Club leader Jessica Scherer, recently spent four days at Camp Hercules in Mystic, CT. They joined members of 49 other Boys & Girls Clubs from across the nation to participate in many fun and educational activities as part of the Immersion Presents science program.
The Immersion Presents program is designed to help youth succeed in science, mathematics, and literacy while using technology to explore the world’s natural resources. Immersion Presents science adventure series are based on the explorations and expeditions of Dr. Robert Ballard, famous oceanographer and discoverer of the Titanic and PT-109.
Dr. Ballard is dedicated to exposing youth to the excitement of exploration and science, and the camp was designed to do just that. Camp Hercules, named after Ballard’s high-tech Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), was just one aspect of the Clubs’ participation in the Immersion Presents program. As part of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs crime prevention initiative, 50 local Boys & Girls Club organizations from across the country have received funding to operate the program.
During the camp, Club members and leaders explored the Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration; boarded the schooner Argia for an educational cruise through the Long Island Sound; discovered underwater life at Esker Point Beach; and visited Mystic Seaport, a re-created 19th century seafaring village.
Paul Calloway described his camp experience as “a fun experience with a lot of different science activities to keep us busy” and Kimbre Frost says that Camp Hercules was “a good place to meet new friends from other Boys and Girls Clubs.”
Parish nurse scholarships
MSR Center for Rural Ministry is offering its annual Parish Nurse Basic Preparation Course October 9-13 at First Christian Church in Sikeston, MO. The course will be led by Alvyne Rethemeyer, director of the International Parish Nurse Resource Center of St. Louis.
Full scholarships are available for those RN’s serving African-American populations through a grant from the Kendall Foundation. The $300 registration fee includes housing at a local motel plus lunches. Participants are responsible for their own breakfasts and evening meals. Partial scholarships are available for other participants.
Parish nurses work as volunteers or paid staff members within church congregations, serving as health counselors, educators, advocates, volunteer coordinators and integrators of faith and health.
For information, call Krystal Jacobs, office administrator, at 573-635-1187 or 800-626-5924, email KrystalMSR@earthlink.net or visit www.msr-crm.org.
Grants for teachers to fight obesity
Inspired by Namaste Charter School, a Chicago-based elementary school, the “I Wish I Could” teacher grant program will support teachers and schools that wish to integrate Namaste’s principles in their own classes.
Sponsored by Mars, Incorporated, 20 individual grants of $500 each will be awarded to teachers or schools across the nation.
Some examples of the ways teachers might utilize the grant include:
* Buy yoga mats for the gym class
* Test healthier options in the cafeteria
* Add a before-school group movement activity
* Form a parents’ advisory council on health and wellness.
Entries will be accepted at www.NamasteShares.org beginning through Monday, Oct. 1. Winners will be notified by Monday, October 15, 2007.
Teachers may visit www.NamasteShares.org to share their story in 200 words or less for a chance to win one of the $500 grants.
