Friday, December 2, 2016

YCPO - December, 2016

Hello Fellow Kiwanians!
Fact: Medical equipment, treatment and facilities designed for adults just don't fit when treating an ill or injured child.
Fact: It costs around four times as much money to treat a child as it does to treat an adult with the same ailment.
(Bulletin Kiwanis International "Children's Miracle Network”)

CHILDREN’S MIRACLE NETWORK HOSPITALS AND KIWANIS….A STRONG PARTNERSHIP
Children's Miracle Network Hospitals was founded with the sole purpose to: help as many children as possible by raising funds for children’s hospitals; keep funds in the community in which they were raised to help local children.
The organization was founded by Marie Osmond and her family, and John Schneider, Mick Shannon and Joe Lake.
Kiwanis International was the first association based sponsor of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, joining the charity as a partner in 1982. Key Club and the many other arms of Kiwanis joined later on as they became recognized programs of Kiwanis.
In 1997, Key Club made Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals an official charity of choice for their members to support. Kiwanis-raised funds have enabled the networks' 170 member hospitals to provide medical care, research and education to benefit children. Since 1983 Kiwanis has donated more than $25 million to CMN hospitals. CMN hospitals train 60% of pediatricians and 80% of all pediatric specialists.

There are 6 CMN Hospitals in New England.
         Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA. serves eastern MA and eastern and southern New Hampshire
         Baystate Children's Hospital, Springfield, MA.
         Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center in Portland, ME. serving children and families from all over northern New England.
         Vermont Children Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, VT.
         Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, CT.
         Hasbro Children's Hospital, Providence RI.
How Can Kiwanis Clubs Help?
• 1. If you Club is located near a CMN Hospital, contact an administrator and ASK how your Kiwanis Club can help. Maybe volunteers are needed to help at the information desk etc.
  2. Fundraising ideas:
organize a "Miracle Mile of Quarters" fundraiser
organize "Duck Races" with your Key Club
sell "Miracle Balloons"
for information on these fundraisers and other ideas
go to: www.KiwanisOne.org/partners or go to: www.KiwanisOne.org/ycpo and read the news bulletin on CHILDREN’S MIRACLE NETWORK
My hope is that I have given Club members "food for thought"; new projects are just a heartbeat away! We can all do our part to make our communities a better place in which to live.

  Sincerely,
Ava Adams, District Chair 2016-17
Early Childhood Development/Y.C.P.O.
Scarborough, Maine
New England and Bermuda District!
email: 
faithava2008@yahoo.com

YCPO - November, 2016

Good Morning Fellow Kiwanians!
Fact: 1 in 8 babies are born prematurely each year.
Fact: Premature birth is the number 1 killer of newborns.
Fact: Premature babies cost ten times more than healthy babies.(
www.marchofdimes.org)
This month ad next month  I will focus on two Kiwanis Partnerships: March of Dimes and Children's Miracle Network Hospitals
 I.The March of Dimes is working to improve the health of babies worldwide. Every year more than 2.1 million babies are born prematurely or with birth defects.throughout the world. More than half a million babies are born too soon in the United States annually. Our country’s premature birth rate has risen by 36 percent over the last 25 years.
Premature birth costs society more than $26 billion a year and takes a high toll on families. Babies born just a few weeks early are at risk of severe health problems and lifelong disabilities. Premature birth is the number 1 killer of newborns.
From the MARCH OF DIMES ANNUAL REPORT:
Our research advances over the past 75 years are still improving health and saving lives today. Since launching our national Prematurity Campaign, preterm birth rates have reached a 10-year low. In 2012, we led the drive to eliminate elective deliveries before 39 completed weeks of pregnancy with nearly 100 prominent hospitals. And we now offer comfort and support to families with a baby in newborn intensive care in more than 128 hospitals around the country”

November is Prematurity Awareness Month
Did you know 1 in 8 babies are born prematurely? More than half a million babies are born prematurely in the United States each year. Premature birth is the #1 cause of death during the first month of life. Even babies born just a few weeks too soon can face serious health challenges and are at risk for lifelong disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, lung problems and vision and hearing loss. November is when the March of Dimes focuses everyone's attention on the impact premature birth has on babies and families.! Throughout the month of November and on World Prematurity Day, November 17, Kiwanis International can support the March of Dimes mission by raising public awareness of the serious issue concerning premature babies.
Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait®
Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait® (HBWW) is a comprehensive initiative by the March of Dimes to prevent preventable preterm birth, with a focus on reducing elective deliveries before 39 weeks gestation. HBWW involves an education and awareness campaign, hospital quality improvement and community intervention programs. These strategies are focused on interventions and activities that have the potential to make an immediate, substantial and measurable impact on preterm birth.
How can Kiwanis Clubs help?
1. Help raise public awareness of this serious issue and help to educate mom-to-be and health care providers. The March of Dimes will provide brochures and pamphlets which can be distributed to doctor's offices, clinics, grocery stores etc.
2. Donate your car, truck, van, bus, boat or motorcycle to the March of Dimes. They provide fast, free towing from all 50 states. Even if your vehicle isn't running, you can still make a donation and get a tax credit if you itemize deductions on your income tax return.
3. Work with your Key Club and get started on organizing a March for Babies Walk which happens in April or May. Go to www.marchforbabies.org and search for a walking event in your area or type in your zip code into the search engine.
4. Make a difference by buying books from the online bookstore, Better World Books. This organization donates a portion of every sale to support literacy initiatives worldwide; helping to raise funds for the March of Dimes and UNICEF.

My hope is that I have given Club members "food for thought"; new projects are just a heartbeat away! We can all do our part to make our communities a better place in which to live.

Sincerely,
Ava Adams, District Chair 2016-17
Early Childhood Development/Y.C.P.O.
Scarborough, Maine
New England and Bermuda District!
email:
faithava2008@yahoo.comNovember 2016 Bulletin ycpo