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News from SI of Seaford
Coalition Strives to Promote
Children’s Health
Peggy
Geisler, Director of the Sussex Child Health Promotion Coalition
and club member, presented information about the organization to
Soroptimist International of Seaford on April 16.
The SCHPC is a
Nemours Health and Prevention initiative in collaboration with
the citizens of Sussex County. The mission of the Coalition is
to engage the entire community in a collaborative effort to
improve the health of children.
Coalition
members believe that in order to help the child they must first
focus on the needs of the parents as well. One of the main goals
of the Coalition is to first identify the needs of families and
understand the real issues that affect Sussex County families
today.
Geisler
believes that many health issues stem from poverty. One way the
Coalition is trying to combat this problem is by partnering with
local churches and the Delaware and Maryland Food Banks to
provide free food drops. This service is available to Sussex
County residents in need of assistance and is operated on a
first come, first served basis.
Another
strategy the SCHPC is using to achieve its mission is to
facilitate strategies for family health promotion. In addition
to supplying food and various staples, free health screening is
also available during the food drops. This screening covers
diabetes, heart, cholesterol, HIV, and more.
Although the Coalition has been in operation for less than two
years, Geisler feels that it is making great strides in
understanding the needs of families in order to take a more
comprehensive approach to raising community awareness as well as
providing much needed services.
“There is no
one portal of information available to Sussex County families
and we hope to be able to provide that,” Geisler added.
For more
information about the SCHPC, visit the website at
www.sussexkids.org or
www.sussexkids.com or
call 302-444-9062.
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