The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded its Excellence in Community Communications and Outreach Award Honorary Mention to the Partnership for Child Health.
The award honors the Jacksonville System of Care Initiative, Mental Health America of Jacksonville and other community partners for The Ripple Effect annual event honoring mental health care professionals who have provided services to children, youth and families in Jacksonville.
The annual ECCO Award acknowledges excellence in social marketing from more than 37 systems of care organizations across the United States. Jacksonville was awarded a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in 2010 to develop a collaborative system of care network to connect children with the resources and services they need to reach their potential.
“We’re very proud of the tireless dedication provided by professionals, community partner organizations and leaders in our city,” said Vicki Waytowich, executive director of the Partnership for Child Health, in a news release. “The positive impact throughout our community in mental and behavioral health services continues to keep kids on track as we create a ripple effect providing better health outcomes for children.”
The Ripple Effect was created in 2014 by Mental Health America of Jacksonville to recognize the contributions mental health care providers made to children they serve. Members of Youth MOVE (Motivating Others through Voices of Experience), with support from the Partnership for Child Health, honors individuals and brings awareness to Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day in May.
The Partnership for Child Health is a Jacksonville-based nonprofit developing integrated systems of care to advance positive health and well-being outcomes of children.
The organization works through alliances to transform the medical, mental, behavioral and developmental health systems for children, youth and families, connecting them with the resources and services they need to reach their full potential.
For more information, visit partnershipforchildhealth.org.
The Travis Manion Foundation will host the Jacksonville 9/11 Heroes Run 5K race and 1-mile Fun Run at 8 a.m. Sept. 10 at SeaWalk Pavilion in Jacksonville Beach.
The annual race will unite the community to remember the nearly 3,000 lives lost Sept. 11, 2001, as well as to honor veterans, military, and first responders who serve the country and communities.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the Travis Manion Foundation, which helps veterans and families of fallen heroes to develop character in future generations.
The series was inspired by Marine 1st Lt. Travis Manion, who was killed by a sniper in Iraq in April 2007 as he protected his battalion. Before his final deployment, Manion visited Rescue One in New York City – famous for losing almost all of its men on 9/11 — and returned home with passion about why he was fighting in Iraq.
The 9/11 Heroes Run is a tribute to a personal commitment to never forget the heroes of that day. Now in its 10th year, the national race series will be held at more than 50 locations across the country and around the world.
Last year, more than 50,000 people participated in race
locations or as virtual runners to support military, veterans, first responders and their families through the foundation. To learn more and to register, visit www.911heroesrun.org.
Studies show that by adolescence, a girl’s confidence drops twice as much as a boy’s.
The national nonprofit program Girls on the Run uses activity-based lessons to change that. Girls on the Run of Northeast Florida’s registration for the 2017 fall season is open through Sept. 8.
Girls on the Run uses activity-based games to promote social, emotional and physical health, creating a foundation of self-worth for girls in the third through eighth grades. At the conclusion of the 10-week program, girls complete a celebratory 5K event, giving them a sense of achievement as well as a framework for setting and achieving life goals.
Girls on the Run will be offered in Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. John’s counties. Most teams will meet twice a week for 75-90 minutes after school, with the exception of some Saturday sites that meet once a week in the morning.
The season will culminate in a 5K event Dec. 2 at the University of North Florida.
For more information, visit gotrnefl.org.
Lifelong blood and platelet donor Carroll Sharp achieved his 120 gallon milestone Aug. 17 at OneBlood’s Mayo Clinic Donor Center.
Sharp, a volunteer Mayo Clinic patient escort, has saved or sustained hundreds of lives over the years through his donations.
Sharp started donating blood in the mid-1960s in Kentucky. In 1976 he transferred to a railroad job in Jacksonville, where he donated whole blood and later transitioned to giving platelets. After retiring in 1999, he increased his donation frequency to giving platelets every two weeks.
To learn more about blood donation, visit oneblood.org.
