Inside This Issue:

• Announcements and Articles, p.1, 2
• Funding Resources, p.2
• Meeting Minutes, p. 3-6
• Did You Know That…, p. 7
• Calendar, p. 8

UNITED WAY HELPS NON-PROFITS FIND NEW FUNDING SOURCES

(From the United Way of Greater Attleboro/Taunton)

   The United Way of Greater Attleboro / Taunton has purchased a subscription to the Foundation Directory Online so that local human service agencies can research and apply for grants. The purchase comes at a time when many non-profit organizations are experiencing a reduction in income and government aid. The Foundation Directory Online is a collection of roughly 70,000 grants and over 200,000 grantmakers throughout the United States.

   “The need in our community right now is greater than I’ve seen in twenty years. Requests for food assistance, or for help paying rent and heating bills has been on the rise. State budget cuts have already had a severe impact on local human service agencies. The United Way is aware of the need and we’re responding in a number of way, including helping our community organizations find new funding sources,” said Vincent Eagles, President and C.P.O. of the United Way of Greater Attleboro/Taunton. “We are offering human service groups convenient access to national grants, as well as training on how to research and prepare grants so they will have the resources to serve the needs of our community.”

   Eagles also hopes to facilitate more partnerships between the United Way and other grant makers across the country. “Ultimately, the most effective use of United Way donor dollars is to use our investment in well-run programs to leverage funds from other sources,” Eagles stated.

   His next goal is to sponsor donor meetings in our area, in order to bring the non-profit community in touch with funding sources.

   All human service agencies within the United Way of Greater Attleboro/Taunton’s service area are able to access the Foundation Center’s online database, located at the United Way offices on 247 Maple Street in Attleboro. Information may be downloaded onto a disc, or printed as hard copy.

   Please call your local United Way of Greater Attleboro/Taunton, at 508-822-1371, or 508-222-2337, to schedule an appointment. Training is also provided.    ♠

FREE MEALS

(From the United Way of Greater Attleboro/Taunton)

Where	Who	When	Bus Transportation
Taunton	Our Daily Bread St. Thomas Soup Kitchen 111 High Street	10:00 a.m. 11:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Attleboro	Food ‘N Friends Kitchen LaSalette Shrine Cafeteria 947 Park St., Rte 118	Monday: 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.	3:05 p.m. – Free Bus #14, Union St.
Mansfield	Food ‘N Friends Kitchen First Baptist Church 52 North Main St. (Rear)	Tuesday: 5:15 p.m. -6:30 p.m.
North Attleboro     Attleboro	Food ‘N Friends Kitchen Grace Episcopal Church 104 North Washington St.   Food ‘N Friends Kitchen First Baptist Church 118 South Main St.	Wednesday: 4:30 p.m. –5:30 p.m.     Thursday: 4:45 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.	3:55 p.m. – Free Bus, Attleboro YMCA. Return Bus #10 at 5:18 p.m.
Seekonk	Food ‘N Friends Kitchen Memorial Baptist Church Route 152	Friday: 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.	4:40 p.m. – Free Bus #16, Union St. 4:45 p.m. – Free from Ro-Jack’s
Attleboro	Food ‘N Friends Kitchen Centenary United Methodist Church 15 Sanford St. (Across YMCA)	Saturday: 11:00 a.m. – Noon	10:45 a.m. – Free Bus #10, Grace Church, North Attleboro Return Free Bus #14, 11:50 a.m.

FUNDING RESOURCES

                (*All amounts are approximate and may be based on past giving records.)

Agency/Program: Education CiviConnections   Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation   Intel Model Schools     The Wireless Foundation ClassLink     The Broad Foundation	$ Available*:   $7,500   Musical Instruments   Discounts on leading technology equipment   Free wireless phones/airtime minutes   Varies	Deadline:   4/30/04   Open   Open     Open   Open	Contact:   civiconnections@ncss.org   info@mhopus.org   www.intel.com/modelschool/index.htm   Foundation@ctia.org   grants@broadfoundation.org
Human Services ROSE Fund	Varies	Rolling	info@rosefund.org
Public Health HRSA HIV Intervention Grants	$500,000	3/5/04	wsauseda@hrsa.gov

COALITION/COMMITTEE MINUTES 

Discussion Highlights:

SART IX will be held March 11, 2004, 7:45-3:00, Holiday Inn, Taunton

·         Packets - Agendas, school principals’ letters, and a Biography of Dr. Elizabeth Englander were shared.

·         Panel Discussion will be facilitated by Annemarie

·         New Center for Legal Advocacy was added to the partners list for the SART IX.

·         Easels will be provided by today’s attendees, for the 3/11/04 SART.

·         Housekeeping – Attendees and presenters may network better without a formal head table. Mayor Nunes and Mentors in Violence Prevention will use a portable microphone for their lunchtime presentations.

·         Evaluation Forms were reviewed and approved.

·         Marketing/Press – The Silver City Bulletin may be utilized for SART IX coverage.

·         Follow Up – Future roundtables could be open to the general public, as well as follow-up activities, such as Bullying Prevention workshops, from the 3/11/04 event. The “Needham Unplugged” models, and speakers/authors such as Robin Carr-Moore, were suggested for follow-up events.

·         Resource Tables will be located along the hallway, outside the Grand Ballroom.

·         Clothesline Project will be displayed in the Ballroom or near the resource tables in the hallway.

·         Breakout Groups Format – The discussion will be based on group needs, not a formal list of questions.

Next Steps:

Offer solutions to increase the return of evaluation forms by attendees

Coordinate resource tables, and print out agency identification cards for the tables.

Coordinate the Clothesline Project display

Contact panelists with the phone numbers of those in their group.

Contact panelists for brief introductory remarks about each

Plan introductory remarks for each panel member

Email Committee members about their assigned tasks.

Next Meetings:

Substance Abuse Committee: 3/3/04, 4:00, High Point, 4 Court St., Crocker Building

Domestic Violence/Violence Prevention Committee: 3/18/04, 3:30, Associates for Human Services

SART IX Debriefing Meeting: 3/24/04 3:30, Community Partnerships, Inc.

Contact Person:

Kathy Lalor, 508-823-9416 Lorraine Rosa, 508-823-4822

Discussion Highlights:

Welcome – Fritz Gatteread, Pastor of Rock of Ages, is collecting data on how substance abuse has impacted communities and families.

SART IX – “Violence: There’s no excuse: A Forum for Local Solutions”, will be held 3/11/04, 7:45-3:00, at the Holiday Inn. Agenda:

Alcoholics Anonymous – The foundation is laid for an open discussion group on Friday’s, starting 2/6/04, 6:00-7:00 p.m., at High Point. Four to five individuals, plus Maggie, will be present at this self-help group. It is open to residents of any city or town. Valuable resources such as this come about by coming together in groups such as GATHER and GTHHSC.

YELL – The first report of this grant is due 1/31/04. Please contact Anne Kotch with information on your work and activities that relate to YELL goals. Sabrina Strong may be contacted at Shstrong@aol.com to discuss the YELL project. She has been meeting with individuals and gathering data. Area schools are being asked to add perceptions questions to their surveys, which tell what students perceive the behavior of their peers to be, concerning substance abuse issues.

Next Steps:

Contact AKotch735@aol.com with information on what we are doing that relates to YELL goals. (Committee)

Contact Shstrong@aol.com to discuss the round tables. (Kathy)

Next Meeting:

3/3/04, 4:00, High Point.

Contact Person: Phil Shea, 508-824-7224

 

 

Discussion Highlights:

Distribution of Three Language Health Newsletter began with the January Advocate, Head Start, Taunton Emergency Task Force and Associates for Human Services mailings. These mailings include Taunton and surrounding towns.

Safety Issues:

·         Events - Safety information on several subjects could be distributed to the public through health fairs and The Advocate. Businesses may wish to offer coupons for safety equipment at events in exchange for improved public relations.

·         Safety Page Quarterly publication could be another way to get the printed word out to the public, on unintentional injury, with tips for protecting children.

·         Topic Areas may include seat belt safety, car seats and where to learn proper installation, poisoning, choking, falls, and children left in cars.

·         Distribution Points could be area physicians, libraries, hospital and insurance newsletters, emergency rooms, DTA, DSS, WIC, health fairs such as Kiwanis Bicycle Safety Day, and newspapers.

·         Funding Possibilities  may include Kiwanis, Walmart and other local groups.

Next Steps:

Include Department of Public Health recall information in future Advocates.

Contact the Children’s Trust Fund, 800-CarSafe, and www.state.ma.us/dph/uninj/inj.htm for distributable resources.

Contact Morton Hospital for accident statistics.

Gather information about events in which we could participate.

Next Meeting: 1/27/04, 10:15, A.H.S.

Contact Person: Lorraine Rosa, 508-823-4822

Discussion Highlights:

Announcements:

·         Series  - Linda LeBreau is hosting a series of 6 discussions that focus on various topics related to HIV/AIDS. Remaining meeting will be held at CCBC on 2/26, 3/25, 4/29 and 5/27, the last Thursday of each month.

·         Awards – Richard McMahon received the Angel Award, and Linda LeBreau, a Certificate of Appreciation.

·         Health Awareness Day will be held at Taunton High School on 3/26/04.

Lead Agency Report:

·         Holiday Party for clients was well attended. Gifts for children were distributed.

·         Project ABLE Annual Lobby Day: 3/3/04, 10:00-12:00, at the State House.

·         Annual Conference on AIDS (formerly “Common Visions”): 4/1/04, TBA.

Emergency Fund Guidelines Sub Committee – The final copy of the revised Emergency Fund Guidelines will be finished by the next meeting for discussion and vote.

AIDS Walk 2004 – More participants are needed .

Next Meeting: 3/10/04, 9:00, Morton Hospital Café Annex.

Contact Person: Richard McMahon, 508-979-7160, x3010

Discussion Highlights:

·         Homelessness – There is no overflow shelter in Taunton, and Samaritan House is full. St. Vincent helped people in the past with hotels, and reports that periodically people stay in the Police station or Morton Hospital’s lobby.

·         Fuel Fund Emergency Services – People running out of unemployment and fuel assistance, and the lack of a federal budget on fuel assistance allocations is further impacting services. Citizens for Citizens assists clients in locating resources such as Kennedy Oil, Salvation Army and the Task Force. The Task Force fuel assistance guideline to fill the tank is $275, and the maximum benefit is from $200 to $300.

Agency Sharing:

·         Department of Human Services: Safe Neighborhood Initiative is surveying residents of a local neighborhood, and developing crime reduction goals. The juvenile program is running in schools, and SER for Jobs helps teens that have dropped out of school with jobs. DHS has lost all but 2 outreach workers.

·         Head Start is full and beginning recruitment for next year.

·         Healthy Families/Young Parents Program is looking for space to run a parent group. They have a teen parent focus.

·         Red Cross – The Quincy office will cover Brockton, Fall River and New Bedford. Brockton remains open for training and emergencies.

·         Catholic Social Services continues to provide rental assistance.

·         St. Vincent de Paul helped 433 at Thanksgiving and 305 at Christmas. Requests totaled $100,000.

·         United Way may reach their campaign goal. They look to collaborate with Head Start and the GTHHSC in a community needs assessment.

·         Citizens for Citizens has hats, mittens and a few things left from Operation Christmas, to share with area agencies. Fuel assistance is still taking applications.

·  Mayor’s Office for Community Development has funded the Samaritan House renovations. The Attleboro/Taunton Home Consortium has brought money in for the creation of affordable housing. SRPED completed a survey of housing needs and resources.

Next Meeting: 3/2/04, 9:30, TEMA Office, City Hall

Contact Person: Millie Burrows, 508-880-0202.

Morton Hospital and Medical Center presents Taste of Greater Taunton, 3/4/04, 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., 

Holiday Inn, Taunton. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Call 508-828-7016 for more information; 

Medicare Update, 3/5/04, 8:00 a.m., Silver City Galleria Community Room. For information, call 508-828-7777.

Daffodil Days  - American Cancer Society’s Daffodils are available in bouquets of ten flowers for $7. A Gift of 

Hope, a bouquet given anonymously to a local cancer patient or person in need, is available for $20. Delivery is set 

for  the week of March 22.  The deadline for ordering is 3/5/04. Contributions received keep the Society's vital 

resources in place for those who are or have been affected by cancer. To order daffodils or volunteer for Daffodil 

Days, call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345. 

Salvation Army Fuel Fund – The Massachusetts Good Neighbor Energy Fund is available to any Massachusetts 

resident who, because of temporary financial difficulty, cannot meet a month’s energy expense and is not eligible 

for  state or federal energy. For information on eligibility criteria and where to apply, call 800-334-3047.

Citizens Energy Oil Heat Program provides a one-time delivery of up to 175 gallons of home heating oil for ½ 

the statewide average retail price. Please call 877-563-4645 to apply for help.

8th Annual Immigrants’ Day at the Statehouse will be held 4/7/04, 9:30-11:00, Gardner Auditorium. Advocacy 

training will be held 3/16/04, 10:00-12:00, call Michele at 617-350-5480, x206. For more information, or to be 

involved with the planning, call Michele Rudy at 617-350-5480, x206 or mrudy@miracoalition.org

Massachusetts Community Health Worker Network (MACHW) will hold its next statewide meeting 

3/18/04, 10:00-Noon, at Hoagland-Pincus Center, Shrewsbury, MA. 

Health Care For All’s Health Action Conference 2004, “On the Road to Health Reform: Drivers Wanted!”, 

will be held 3/5/04, 9:00-4:00, Hoagland-Pincus Conference Center, Shrewsbury. To attend, please call 

617-350-7279. Fee: $15 (members), $20 (non-members) 

Partners in Perinatal Health Conference will be held 5/18/04, Worcester Centrum Centre. Save the date. 

Bristol Elder Services 2nd Annual Emergency Assistance Fund Fundraiser – The Makem Brothers with 

Mick and Liam Spain will appear 2/27/04, 8:00 show, 7:00 door, at the Narrows Center for the Arts, 16 Anawan 

Street, Fall River. $25 per ticket payable to Bristol Elder Services, Inc., 182 North Main St., Fall River, MA 02720.