TAHK Grant Deadlines Approaching!
I received this in an email. If you know of any interested schools, pass the information along. Be quick though because the deadline is approaching.
Through partners such as Kellogg’s and the Walmart Foundation, Action for Healthy Kids is pleased to release its School Grants for Healthy Kids opportunities for the 2012-2013 school year. Over 500 schools will be awarded funds that will range from $1,000 to $5,000 (average $2,000) with significant in-kind contributions from Action for Healthy Kids in the form of people, programs, and school nutrition expertise. TAHK will also provide schools with management expertise and support to develop strong nutrition programs around school breakfast, competitive foods, summer meals, access to healthy food and nutrition education.
Award amounts will be based on building enrollment, project type, potential impact, and a school’s ability to mobilize parents and students around school wellness initiatives. Schools must participate in the National School Lunch Program and National School Breakfast Program; and must have a free/reduced priced meal eligibility greater than 50% to be eligible. Priority selection will be given to schools with student enrollment greater than 500 students.
- Applications must be submitted online HERE.
- Schools are encouraged to complete the paper application with their grant team.
- The application can be downloaded by clicking HERE.
- Once completed, proceed to the online survey in #1 to submit your official application. NOTE: Paper applications will not be accepted!
Deadlines:
- May 5, 2012 – Applications Due
- June 1, 2012 – Awarded schools notified
- June 7, 2012 – Webinar for grant funded schools
- Dec 14, 2012 – Mid Project report due
- June 14, 2013 – Final Project report due
President Obama’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Health, Obama, Society & Culture
On July 13, 2010 the White House released the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which was the country’s first roadmap to addressing the domestic epidemic. In recognition of this important milestone, the White House created the video below and a pdf update of their implementation strategy.
We may not think of this as a really big deal, but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2006, black men accounted for two-thirds of new infections (65%) among all blacks. The rate of new HIV infection for black men was 6 times as high as that of white men, nearly 3 times that of Hispanic/Latino men, and twice that of black women.
So think about that as you watch the video.
Save Lives with Hands-Only CPR
The American Heart Association is running a campaign to teach everyone about a new way to save lives using Hands-Only™ CPR and the disco hit “Stayin’ Alive”. The song has the same beat as the proper rate of chest compressions during CPR – giving our CPR instructors an easy-to-remember teaching tool to equip millions of people with lifesaving skills.
The steps for Hands-Only™ CPR are simple. You can save a life by doing just two things: Call 9-1-1 and push hard and fast in the center of the chest. To make sure you’re doing CPR properly, just remember to give chest compressions to the same beat as “Stayin’ Alive”.
For those like me who need a visual to help remember, the AHA created this hilarious video starring actor Ken Jeong (also a doctor). While a heart attack is no laughing matter, this technique can save someone’s life if done correctly. Here are a couple of facts from their website:
- Sudden Cardiac Arrest is a leading cause of death in the U.S.
- 80% of victims of sudden cardiac arrest collapse at home.
- 92% of out–of–hospital victims die before medical help ever arrives.
- A willing bystander administering CPR can more than double a victim’s chance of survival.
Change
Filed under: Black Blogger Postings, Blog Entries, Business, Community, Education, Entertainment & Sports, Family, General, Health, Laughable, Legal, Life, Monday Motivation, Music Reviews, My Thoughts, My Utterz, MyBlogLog, Obama, Our Rights, Personal Finance, Photo Phinish, Podcasts, Podcasts - Tha Brothas, Politics, Relationships, Society & Culture, Technology, Think Global, Twitter
It’s been a while since I’ve posted on theotalks.net and I’ve had it on my task list to do this for a while. I’ve been debating it for some time, but I really think it’s time to start fresh. I’ve mentioned in other posts that blogging is hard work. If you’re not dedicated to the cause, you can easily suffer burnout. I’ve seen it before from some of my favorite sites and if you look at the last date I posted, you’ll see it here.
But despite the lack of posts, I still get a decent amount of hits and readers are still leaving comments on some of my older posts. I’m not the most prolific writer and I don’t consider myself to be well-versed in a lot of the stuff I blog about. But there’s something about this blogging thing that keeps sucking me back into it. I’ve grown to love the black blogger community and it has allowed me to meet some amazing people. There are a lot of people out there with some strong opinions about society and the world as they see it. Those are the people who I like to showcase and support.
I’m making some changes to the blog and what I blog about. I love the current theme and focus of theotalks, but I want to remove the restraints and give myself the opportunity to be all over the place. The new theme of the site is “Random thoughts about everything and nothing”. While it may be a little vague, that’s how I want to run the site from now on. My current theme of focusing on the black community is great, but there are so many other great bloggers out there consistently doing it. It takes time to put those posts together and right now, I’m at a different place in life.
So from here on out, expect the unexpected. As I feel moved, I’ll post about whatever is on my heart at the moment. I’ll also be showcasing some of my favorite bloggers and will work to get some of the guest writers back (you know who you are) to help a brotha out.
I haven’t decided if I’m going to start the podcast back up, but I might try my hand at video blogging. Only time will tell. Thanks to everyone who supports and reads this blog. It definitely keeps me motivated to stay at it.
God Bless.
Theo
Once Again It’s On!
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Education, Family, Health, My Thoughts, Obama, Politics, Society & Culture, Technology, Think Global
Earlier this morning President Obama began filing papers to seek re-election for President in 2012. The first thought in my mind was “here we go again”. I was surprised the first time he sought election and shocked when he beat out the Clintons for the Democratic nominee. But watching him over the past couple of years has shown me Obama can handle the critics and is willing to complete the tasks he promises to those who elect him.
Sure we don’t have our American utopia critics felt he promised in 2008, but let’s remember the downward spiral our country was going in before he was elected. Money was being thrown all over the place to fund the Iraq war, the housing sector was trash and companies who were too big to fail were in the corporate welfare line waiting for their share of the taxpayers’ money. It wasn’t pretty and I til this day can’t understand why he wanted to run for office in the first place. But he won and the country has never been the same since.
Our previous president told us that holding the office of Commander in Chief is hard work and I agree. I couldn’t imagine having to be responsible for making decisions that affect millions of people, but I feel President Obama has done what he feels is best for America and deserves a second term. I feel confident that despite all the political bickering, he thoughtfully considers every decision and moves after he’s heard all the options. Yes, not every decision is effective. But what president, CEO or executive can make the claim that all of the decisions they’ve made have worked? In the end, he’s the one held responsible. So let’s give him four more years to see if the laws he’s implemented work.
Texas PTA Legislative Action Alert
Filed under: Community, Education, Family, Health, Politics, Society & Culture, Technology
I received this email from our PTA. Earlier this week during a youth Bible study class, one of the students asked us to pray for their teachers in Plano ISD. Over 400 of them were losing their jobs and 40 were just let go from her school that week.
This is sad and shows how much our representatives in Texas care about the future of our youth. While my kids might not personally benefit from all of these programs, there are a lot of kids who will. For those parents who might not have the money to send their kids to private school or get outside help for their kids, these programs and grants are needed. If you live in Texas, take a little time to call your representative and ask them to fund public education.
—————————————————————————————————–
WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!
PLEASE CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TODAY
ASK HIM/HER TO FUND PUBLIC EDUCATION
IN HB 1
THE BUDGET BILL FOR 2012-2013
CALL TODAY!!!
What you need to know:
Friday, April 1, the Texas House of Representatives will vote on the budget for the next two years. The budget on which they will vote makes deep cuts to public education.
- HB 1 proposes giving $7.8 billion less to the Foundation School Program (FSP), the main source of funding for local school districts. This is 18% less than is required by current law.
- Depending upon how a local school district chooses to address this reduced funding from the state, Texas could expect layoffs of thousands of school employees.
- In addition to cuts to the FSP, HB 1 cuts or severely reduces funding for
- Reading, Math and Science Initiatives
- Pre-Kindergarten Early Start program
- Early Childhood School Readiness Grants
- Science Lab Grants
- Texas Advanced Placement Incentive Program
- Virtual School Network
- Middle School Physical Education Grants
- Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program
- Extended Year Programs
- Limited English Proficiency Student Success Initiative
- Communities in Schools Programs
- Student Success Initiatives
- High School Completion and Success Initiative
What you can do:
CALL YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE TODAY
ASK HIM/HER TO SUPPORT AMENDMENTS TO HB 1
THAT INCREASE FUNDING FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION
To find contact information for your state representative, visit http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us. Enter the requested information into the fields listed (this includes your street address and ZIP code) and then select “HOUSE” from the District Type pull-down field and click the submit button. You will be taken to a page that lists the name of your state representative as well as their Austin (512) phone number. This is the number you should dial to register your concerns about HB 1.
Partnership For A Healthy Texas Conquering Obesity
Members and Friends of the Partnership for a Healthy Texas -
Both the Steering and Legislative Committees have been quite busy of late reviewing legislation, serving as issue area experts and making sure the Partnership priorities are both promoted and reflected appropriately in the budget and in legislation. We appreciate your patience during our lack of communication.
We have developed two documents; one, outlining the bills that fall into the Partnership’s legislative priority areas and; another, outlining the bills related to obesity and nutrition that the Partnership is tracking (click on the links to download each in PDF format). Below, is a rough outline of the budget as it relates to our issues. As you are probably well aware, the Senate version of the budget is still being hammered out while the House will discuss HB 1 on the floor tomorrow.
We anticipate calling upon our membership more as the process moves along. In the meantime, let me know if you have any questions.
TEA – HB 1
HB1 would cut $66 million from School Health and Safety, which includes implementation of coordinated school health, counseling and mental health, physical activity, nutrition, and health education, and health services. This is a 70% reduction in funding compared to the current budget.
In addition to the 70% reduction in School Health and Safety, HB1 would end the state’s investment in:
- Prekindergarten grants and Early Childhood School Readiness programs (down $223.3 million), meaning 144,000 fewer children would benefit from quality-assured public prekindergarten and school readiness programs each year
- Middle School Physical Education grants (down $20 million), resulting in 425,000 middle school students no longer having access to programs proven to increase performance on Fitnessgram physical fitness assessments and with demonstrated positive correlation with TAKS Reading and Math scores
- Life Skills Teen Parenting (down $19.7 million), meaning that 26,000 pregnant and parenting teens will have supportive services for graduating high school and learning healthy parenting skills
- School Bus Seat Belt grants, reduction of $10 million that would have gone to assist school districts acquire school buses with three-point seat belts
- Communities in Schools (though $9.7 million in federal TANF funds remain). 64,000 fewer students at risk of dropping out of school each year would no longer receive services that connect them to community resources that supports their success in school and beyond
The HB1 proposed cuts would be on top of reduction already made to the TEA budget in the current biennium:
- $2 million cut to the Education Service Centers that provide technical assistance for implementing coordinated school health
- $3.5 million cut to Communities in Schools
- $41,000 for School Lunch matching
- $850,000 for AVANCE family support
DSHS cuts
- Community-based obesity prevention (HB1: 53% cut equaling $15.6m to all chronic disease prevention, SB1: same)
- WIC Nutrition Supplements and Farmer’s Markets (HB1: $33.5m cut, which is 25,500 fewer recipients on monthly WIC Nutrition caseload, a 1% caseload cut, SB1: same)
TDAg budget recommendation:
There is a rider in the TDA component of the budget supporting the Texas Department of Agriculture’s capacity to coordinate existing farming resources and expand the Farm-to-School program by raising the Department’s full-time equivalent employee cap. This will allow the Department to create a Farm-to-School Coordinator position that will not require any appropriation of state funds. This coordinator position represents an opportunity to support the health of Texas children in a Legislative Session where cuts to children’s health services are endemic. A Texas Department of Agriculture Farm-to-School Coordinator position would additionally help support the growth of Texas farms, increase the availability of quality of food in Texas schools, and create valuable opportunities for nutrition education amid a costly obesity epidemic.
Carrie Kroll
Partnership for a Healthy Texas Chair
February is American Heart Month
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Education, Health
The month of February is American Heart Month and I’d like for you to join me as I get the word out about the number one killer in America. If not you, I’m sure there’s someone in your family that has been affected by heart disease and as black people it’s even more important for us to be aware of how it can affect our lives.
When I was in middle school, my dad had a brain stem stroke that affected our lives more than we could ever imagine. Being the major bread winner in the household, my mom now had to manage and provide for the entire household. By God’s grace she was able to do it, but times were not always easy because she had to care for us and my dad. After waking up from a coma the doctor’s thought he would not live through, he was confined to a wheel chair and couldn’t do the day to day things we take for granted. He passed in 2001, but with some major lifestyle changes he lived 14 years longer than the doctors expected.
Heart disease is a scary thing and because it runs in my family, I know I have to be a little more vigilant in taking care of myself. I would hate for my family to be in the same position, so I do my best to make sure I do better when it comes to my health. There’s a lot of good information on the American Heart Association website and to get you started, I’ve provided some links to some helpful information we should all know.
Please spread the word and get involved in some of the heart-healthy programs offered by the AHA. Throughout the month, I’ll also be posting some things you can do to stay healthy.
Things you can do to stay (or get) healthy
Warning Signs of Heart Attack, Stroke or Cardiac Arrest
Heart360® – convenient and secure location for you to track and manage your heart health.
High blood pressure and African-Americans
Calling All Physical and Occupational Therapist in Houston
Filed under: Blog Entries, Business, General, Health, Personal Finance
Every so often I receive job postings and if requested I try to post them on the site. While the economy is still not where it needs to be it does seem like companies are hiring more. Things can’t change over night, but I do see signs of improvement.
If you are a licensed OTR, COTA, PTR, PTA or Speech Therapist, APS Therapeutic Touch Services, LLC is in need of your services. They serve the Houston, Missouri City, Richmond, Rosenberg, Sugar Land and outlining areas. For more information, please call the number below or email ajohnson@apstherapeutictouch.com and/or asegosebe@apstherapeutictouch.com and tell them Theo sent you.
APS THERAPEUTIC TOUCH SERVICES, LLC
12711 Alyssa Avenue
Missouri City, TX 77489
Office# 832-295-0406
Fax# 281-499-6130
Note:
OTR – Registered Occupational Therapist
COTA – Certified Occupational Therapist
PTR – Registered Physical Therapist
PTA – Certified Physical Therapist Assistant
Today is World AIDS Day 2010
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Education, Family, Health, Life, Obama, Society & Culture, Think Global
Despite the recent lack of content on the site, I didn’t want to let this day pass without showing my support for World AIDS Day. I’ve participated in the past and I’ve tried to provide at least one link of interest to help others see the impact AIDS has on communities all over the world.
While medicine and vaccines have improved over the years, there are prevention measures that you take to reduce the risk of contracting it. On the aids.gov website they even have an AIDS 101 page that you can visit to learn the basics of HIV/AIDS. The information is out there, but it’s up to us get get it to the masses. We have to be knowledgeable about this information because it affects us all.
I thought I’d leave you with a quick video from President Obama and some additional links to visit and share with others.
AIDS.GOV INFORMATION
Website: www.AIDS.gov
Blog: blog.AIDS.gov
Twitter: www.twitter.com/AIDSgov
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AIDSgov
Flickr: www.flickr.com/groups/facingaids2010
MySpace: www.myspace.com/AIDSgov
If you would like to locate your local HIV testing site you can text your ZIP code to “KNOWIT” (566948) or use the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Service Provider Locator to find maps, walking, driving, and biking directions.
Suing McDonald’s Over Toys
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Entertainment & Sports, Family, Health, Legal, Society & Culture
I’ll be the first to admit that my kids love going to McDonald’s. From a very early age, both of them could identify the logo as we drove down the street and this was amazing because it showed how powerful the McDonald’s brand really was. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has long opposed the deceptive marketing of unhealthy foods to children. That is why they decided to sue McDonald’s if they continue to use toys to market the Happy Meal to young kids.
Now, I’m all for keeping kids healthy, but this is ridiculous. While my boys enjoy getting the toy in their Happy Meal, they usually end up playing with it for less than a day. After that it ends up broken, lost or left in the car (which causes it to be thrown in the trash).
McDonald’s is the king of brand marketing and they should not be blamed for what they do best. It’s up to the parent to decide when, if and how often their child should eat at McDonald’s. And even if the CSPI, sues, wins and gets the toys banned, I doubt consumption of Happy Meals will decrease.
CSPI, please trust the parents to make the best food decision for their children. We know the food is far from healthy and filling up the U.S. Court System with these types of lawsuits is a waste of time.
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