PRESS RELEASE
Media Contact: Michelle Carvalho, Project Coordinator
Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network
Emory Prevention Research Center
mlcarva@emory.edu; 404-712-8795

Emory Prevention Research Center Requests Applications for $32,000 in grants to Southwest Georgia Organizations to Promote Healthy Lifestyles

Atlanta, GA – March 19, 2010 – The Emory Prevention Research Center (EPRC) along with local partners, including the Southwest Georgia Cancer Coalition, is launching a grants program called Prevention Programs That Work. The EPRC will be awarding grants to four Southwest Georgia organizations such as churches, health care settings, schools, worksites, and youth organizations to carry out one of 12 prevention programs to improve health through better nutrition and physical activity, cancer screenings, smoking prevention and smoking cessation. These programs have all been tested and demonstrated to be effective.

Recipients will receive up to $8,000 for program expenses over 2 years, and will also be able to get help from the EPRC staff to assist with conducting their programs. Past similar programs enabled 12 Southwest Georgia organizations to implement health promotion programs. The Cook County Family Connection was funded in 2008 to conduct the Treatwell nutrition program with its staff, board of directors, and collaborative partners. The program includes a nutrition discussion series and policy changes such as serving healthy options at events. According to Zoe Myers, Executive Director, "The program was tremendously successful, much more than we expected…it served as a catalyst, if you will, for a lot of other new ideas right now," including a county community health plan and a $360,000 grant the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded them in January 2010.

Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to attend the EPRC-sponsored Prevention Programs Training Workshop to improve their chances of receiving a grant. This one-day interactive workshop will teach interested community leaders, practitioners, educators and health professionals how to find, select and implement prevention programs that have already been demonstrated to be effective. The full-day workshop will be offered twice: April 16 in Albany and April 17 in Valdosta. The training workshops are free and open to the public, but interested participants must register online at http://www.sph.emory.edu/eprc.

The EPRC works with communities to prevent cancer and other diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. Prevention Programs that Work is one way of working with communities to prevent cancer by helping them to adapt and implement programs that have proven successful in getting people to eat healthier foods, be more physically active, abstain from smoking and get recommended cancer screenings.

EPRC Director Dr. Michelle Kegler says, "Providing grant funding and training to community organizations in Southwest Georgia is a tangible way for us at the EPRC to help improve the health of these communities. As an academic research center, we are committed to making sure the results of health research can be translated to practical application at the community level. These prevention programs have been tested in research programs and proved to be effective. We are excited to work with Southwest Georgia organizations to implement these programs in local communities to improve health."

To learn more about the grants program (including eligibility requirements) and the training workshop, or to download an application, please visit www.sph.emory.edu/EPRC or contact Michelle Carvalho (mlcarva@emory.edu or 404-712-8795).
For more information about EPRC activities in Southwest Georgia, contact JK Veluswamy, EPRC Southwest Georgia Program Coordinator at (229) 312-1708.