Friday Musings 7-26-13

What is the impact of our work for the next 7 generations? 

Jennifer Garbow shared these thoughts in the comment section of last week's blog -  In response to Nelson Mandela's quote "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world", : "when tribes embark on economic development endeavors, goals for education, improved housing conditions, health care, natural resource management, etc... the idea of nation building is part of the conversation. Often times the question is asked "how can this (program/service) improve the lives of the people for the next seven generations?" Good food for thought as we move forward with our work". So, what is the impact of our work 140 years into the future? Thank you so much for sharing Jennifer.

Extension Center for Family Development MNsure Grant Update

I have heard from many of you - "What was finally submitted to MNsure?"  First, I want to thank Mary Jo, Brianna, Sharon P., & Kay Anderson (grant writer) for their help in writing, editing, and submission of our proposal. In the grant I put all FRM educators and Brianna on for a small portion of their time - figuring if we received the grant - we would all have a part in informing target populations about MNsure, the healthcare exchange, and consumer decision-making around health insurance. Here is a short synopsis of our proposal: This outreach project brings together a coalition that will provide focused community outreach to hard-to-reach populations across Minnesota specifically: Hmong, Lao, Latino and Somali.  It will directly connect to these populations with newly developed resources that are culturally adapted through a process that engages community members in identifying key concepts and messages that are important within their community regarding MNsure, health insurance, learning preferences and motivational factors.  Then through mentoring, it will build the capacity of four cultural organizations and a health care provider that serve the targeted consumer communities to provide both direct outreach using the materials developed and to assist other providers who may not have a good understanding of the cultural context of these communities, to develop an understanding and more effectively conduct outreach and education to these communities in Minnesota. We should hear by the end of August if we are selected to implement our proposal.

Commission to Build a Healthier America

"Across America, people living just a few miles apart have dramatic differences in life expectancy. To improve health we need to improve people's opportunities to make healthy choices - in the places where they live, learn, work, and play. Just a few miles can mean a 13-year difference in life expectancy for babies born in Minneapolis & St. Paul." Thank you Kjersti for sharing this resource. This information challenges us to target not only our audience - but perhaps target our audience by neighborhood or geographic area. What do you think?

 

Note from the author of this blog: Hello. I am Trish Olson, a program leader with the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Family Development. I write this blog primarily for the team I work with in Extension, and welcome others who find it a useful weekly reflection. My goals for writing this blog are to stimulate informal discussion, look at local and world events in the context of our work in the Center for Family Development, and perhaps put a smile on your face. I do heavily quote from other sources - but always put quotation marks in " " and cite the reference.  I really encourage the use of the comment function to fully benefit from this blog. If you have received this because someone forwarded it to you and  you would like to be added to the notification list contact me at pdolson@umn.edu. Have a nice day.