Wintermission Competition to Increase Social Interaction and Physical Activity


Mom and son playing at park on cold winter day.

Does your city want to embrace the winter, rather than merely endure it? Apply for Wintermission! Wintermission will coach three U.S. cities to plan, pilot, and implement creative solutions to increase social interaction and physical activity among children, newcomer families, and other vulnerable communities in public spaces during the coldest, darkest months of the year. Applications, offered by nonprofit 8 80 Cities, are due Nov. 29, 2018. “Building a culture of public life outside in winter also helps build a culture of public life in all seasons,” according to the 8 80 Cities website. Improving Social and Physical Activity in Winter Fewer people spend time outdoors in the winter, which contributes to lower rates of physical activity and social ...

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Most People Underestimate Latinos’ Environmental Concerns—Even Latinos


Are Latinos are concern about Environment

Most Americans underestimate just how concerned Latinos and other minority groups are about environmental threats, including members of those groups, according to a new study by Cornell University. Researchers surveyed 1,200 Americans about their levels of concern for the environment. They found widespread underestimation of the environmental concerns of a broad range of racial/ethnic and sociodemographic groups. This underestimation was largest for judgments of minorities’ and low-income Americans’ concerns—groups that indicate high levels of environmental concern in public opinion surveys. Also, most people associate the term "environmentalist" with whites and the well-educated. "We found a very consistent pattern that if the American public thought a group was very ...

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School Strategies to Support Immigrant Students, Families


Male High School Student Talking To Male Latino Teacher.

Immigrants are a part of American society, regardless of ongoing political battles. Schools play a big role in embracing and accommodating the unique socio-emotional needs of immigrant students and their families, well beyond academics. But not all school personnel are equipped to respond to these needs. Fortunately, recent guidelines from the National Dropout Prevention Center can help you and other teachers, administrators, and staff at your school understand and better meet the social, economic, and emotional needs of immigrant students and families. “Meeting the needs of such diverse immigrant child and family situations requires knowledge, commitment, and emotional energy on the parts of school administrators, teachers, and other school personnel,” according to the ...

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The Rural Broadband Divide


Wifi access road sign concept in rural area Internet broadband

In today’s world, fast and dependable Internet is essential to thrive. Want to apply for a job? Application is online only! Want to read the latest health news? Online! Need to do homework or get a tutor? Online! Yet, many in rural areas do not have access to high quality broadband services. 24% of rural adults said that access to high-quality Internet service is problematic in their community, according to an alarming new report from Pew Research Center. Another 34% of rural adults say that internet access is a minor problem. Together, 6 in 10 rural Americans see quality internet access as problem.  Furthermore, 39% of rural Americans, or 23 million people, lack proper broadband access, according to a 2016 report by the Federal Communications Commission ...

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John Hernandez & Team Win Award for Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools


John Hernandez san antonio ec isd trauma award

John Hernandez cares so much about students who experience trauma, such as neglect, that he started a committee and a system to identify, track, and support these kids and prevent drop-outs at East Central ISD in San Antonio. We at Salud America! were so inspired we nominated Hernandez and the committee for the 2018 Crystal Star Award. Now they've won! Hernandez and his committee, called EC Cares, received the Crystal Star Awards of Excellence in Dropout Recovery, Intervention, and Prevention in October 2018 from the National Dropout Prevention Center at their conference in Columbus, Ohio. Every year, the Center brings national recognition to outstanding individuals and programs making significant contributions to the advancement of dropout prevention. Hernandez and EC ...

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Groups Suffer From Wealth Divide


race wealth taxes divide equity gap

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act aims to give an economic boost to hardworking Americans. But it's not working that way, some experts say. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act actually rewards top-income earners, and expands the ever-growing racial wealth divide between whites and Latinos and other minority groups, according an Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) report. "These tax cuts reward existing White wealth at the expense of the economic security of households of color, poor households, and a stalling middle class," according to the ITEP report. For Latino and Black families, the economic outlook is bleak. Wealth and Communities of Color Income inequity is already a rising issue. Wealth inequity, income inequality’s closely connected cousin, isn’t talked about ...

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Study: Latino Men Born in the U.S are More Inclined to Obesity


obesity rates as latino man walks away

Latino men who are born or live in the United States for more than five years are twice as likely to be obese than those born outside the U.S., according to a new study from Florida State University study in the American Journal of Men's Health. This could become a problem for the U.S. workforce. "[Latinos] are also gradually becoming the majority of blue-collar workers. It is important to know about the health conditions of our labor force. If we do not, those conditions could become a public health burden in the future," said Amy Ai of Florida State, who led the study, in a press release. Why More Obesity in U.S.-Born Latinos? Ai and her team found that those who lived in the U.S. for more than 21 years were 1.5 times more likely to become obese than other foreign-born men. ...

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