Eat Smart Move More South Carolina is pleased to announce the election of three new board members representing some pretty important areas – faith, rural communities, and law. They also add to the diverse make-up of the board, a focus area that ESMMSC has been addressing more intentionally. Joining the board are Reverend Sean Dogan, Phyllis Smart, and Phil Cristaldi.
“It’s important to have a diverse board that represents different perspectives and experiences,” says ESMMSC Executive Director Meg Stanley. “We are thrilled to have these three new board members who will have specific expertise in their respective areas. They are going to provide direction and growth and keep this organization on the right track.”
Reverend. Sean Dogan, Long Branch Baptist Church, Greenville, SC Rev. Sean Dogan has served as Senior Pastor of the Long Branch Baptist Church, since 1997. Under his visionary leadership the church has grown to over 1,000 weekly attendees. He has led them in a multimillion-dollar building project and an environmental improvement project which included a stream restoration, rock sitting area, and the planting of over 60 trees. Pastor Dogan has initiated many programs that have positively affected the local community, including a monthly feeding program, farmers market, mobile market, scholarships, and business grant opportunities. In addition to his good work in the church and community, Pastor Dogan serves on numerous boards. He is a 1998 graduate of Clemson University, attended Shaw School of Divinity, in Raleigh, NC, and he’s a graduate of The Riley Institute Diversity Leadership Initiative (Spring 2011 Class). Pastor Dogan currently serves as Interim CEO / President of the Urban League of the Upstate. He is married to the former Satreva Young and to this union they have a beautiful daughter, Ramiah Dogan.
Phyllis Smart, The Smart Box, Allendale, SC A native of St. Helena Island, SC, Phyllis Smart is the CEO/Founder of a 501c3 non-profit organization called The Smart Box where her mission is to enhance the quality of life for all individuals. The Smart Box, an Emergency Food pantry in Allendale County, serves over 400 families weekly. Phyllis has been an educator for over 13 years with a Master’s in Education. Phyllis is a licensed evangelist and author of a New York Times nominated book The Journey of a Helpmeet that has ministered to women all over the world. Her new book Rejection: The Silent Killer has taken the industry by storm. Sharing her battles with rejection is unlocking many different types of cages. Her motto is “With Soul Empowerment Comes Self Improvement.” She teaches individuals to love themselves without labels. Phyllis is a wife, mother, and Nana.
Phil Cristaldi, Ross & Cristaldi, LLC, Mt Pleasant, SC Phil Cristaldi is a partner at Ross & Cristaldi, LLC where he concentrates his practice on insurance defense, construction defect, products liability, premises liability, personal injury and general civil litigation. Outside of the litigation realm, Phil offers non-litigation support for his clients providing advice related to industry issues and payment disputes, as well analyzing and drafting contracts in an effort to prevent disputes and provide protection in the future. He a magna cum laude graduate of the University of North Carolina Wilmington and a summa cum laude graduate of the Charleston School of Law where he graduated at the top of his class. Outside of the office, he is an avid outdoor enthusiast who enjoys running, cycling, surfing, snowboarding, and spending time with his wife, Kelly, and dog, Shaka.
The slate of board members for 2021 is listed on the Board page.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we operate and collaborate with partners, communities, and youth. We transitioned into a remote team, pivoted some of our work to focus on the increase in food insecurity, helped our grantees navigate a new way of project implementation, and created a virtual model for youth engagement. Learn about our impact on communities across South Carolina…
Healthy eating and active living opportunities are essential to the quality of life for every single individual regardless of their socioeconomic status. This is true for those who experience substance use disorders too. In fact, healthy eating and active living are life skills that people in recovery need to lead a quality, sober life. That’s one reason why Eat Smart Move More South Carolina (ESMMSC) decided to fund Keystone Substance Abuse Services’ Let’sGo! 3.0 mini-grant proposal.
“The Keystone project is an example of ESMMSC trying to address equity and access,” said Kelsey Sanders, MPH, CHES, community initiatives manager at ESMMSC. “When I think of equity, I think of giving people what they need to be successful. Patients at Keystone needed a safe and clean walking path to achieve success in managing not only their recovery, but also their physical and mental health.”
Making the Case for Keystone When ESMMSC reviewers scored the Keystone mini-grant application high, staff took a serious look at the application and weighed the benefits of choosing to fund an organization that doesn’t reach a large number of people compared to a proposal that does. Historically, ESMMSC funds organizations that can have a large impact on community health, but the Keystone application gave staff a new perspective.
Keystone is York County’s largest provider of treatment and prevention services. It’s also one of four public
AFTER: A clean, safe place to exercise
withdrawal management programs in the state, so they often serve patients from across the state of South Carolina, not just York County residents. Also, many of their patients are either uninsured or underinsured, meaning patients largely represent a low socioeconomic class – a group at high risk for physical and mental health problems.
“If patients can learn physical activity habits during their stay, these individuals can have a sustainable option for reducing depression and anxiety, increasing self-efficacy, decreasing stress, increasing coping skills, and ultimately providing individuals with a positive, sober alternative activity,” said Danielle Russell, executive director of Keystone Substance Abuse Services. “Not only will physical activity help in their recovery, but it can teach individuals lifelong skills that will reduce the risk of chronic diseases and improve optimal health and wellness.”
Despite this clear link between physical and mental health, organizations that address mental health and physical health largely remain siloed from each other. This project, while a nontraditional partnership for ESMMSC, represented an opportunity to bridge the connection between mental and physical health. ESMMSC staff saw the Keystone project as a direct link to social determinants of health, and diversity, equity, and inclusion – ESMMSC’s core values. By funding the Keystone project, ESMMSC staff realized the lasting impact they could have on people with substance use disorders and those close to them.
From Mud Pit to Clean Path
Keystone had a partially paved walking trail loop (.25 mile) on their campus, but it was rundown and oftentimes turned into a mud pit when it rained. Even under the unsafe conditions, counselors would try to get patients outside as often as possible for some extra stimulation and therapy. Keystone staff wanted more for their patients and themselves. They wanted to complete the loop so that their patients could thrive, and their staff could also focus on their personal health.
A Keystone inpatient counselor said, “One of the biggest complaints I get from some of the patients is that they are feeling lethargic once they start to feel better. Keeping them indoors with minimal exercise seems to exaggerate those symptoms. Many have specifically said that just getting their body moving and being outdoors helps them feel better overall (physically and mentally). We try when it’s nice out just to get them to take a walk, and often those are some of the best groups we have. It seems to support the theory that physical activity and sunshine provide essential therapeutic components.”
According to their application, physical activity is a part of an individual’s life that is often lost during their addiction. Physical activity can help individuals find their path to recovery. Evidence shows that physical activity can help provide structure to their days, generate positivity, distract them from cravings, and heal their body and brain.
A New Path to Coping
Keystone completed their walking trail loop, and now, patients and staff have a safe place to exercise, to meet, and to cope. All of the staff interviewed indicated they take their patients outside to walk the loop, and they’re seeing positive changes.
An Inpatient Clinical Counselor said, “I take patients out there as often as possible. Walking, having group time and individual time with patients helps decrease stress and anxiety and patients open up more.”
An Inpatient Technician and a Substance Abuse Specialist said, “I will take patients out on the trail in the afternoons and after dinner, if the weather is good. They are so glad to get outside. There are times when they compete and walk very fast, skip or hop to exercise, and have fun.”
Employees Benefit Too
ESMMSC knows the importance of employee health and wellness – that includes mental health too. Worksite wellness programs and policies lead to improved health of employees, decreased health care costs, and improved productivity. So, when the Keystone application mentioned worksite wellness, it was one more very good reason to fund their proposed project.
Before the project was completed, employees noted having to jump mud puddles and other obstacles on the loop or just choosing to walk the parking lot near a busy street. Now, they find the loop to be pleasing and beneficial.
“I use the path for afternoon walks and utilize the entire track. If our power goes out, or I find time I use it at other times as well,” said the Outpatient Programs Administrator. “Walking was the recommendation of my heart doctor. It helps clear my mind. I step away from the computer and it helps me stay focused on the moment.”
“I go for a walk every afternoon around 2:00. It gets me ready for the final two hours of the workday to get energized for the afternoon. One to two laps revitalize me. I wish I had time to walk more,” said an Outpatient Clinical Counselor.
The .25-mile walking trail loop can be used by people of all ability levels, and it gives patients and staff an opportunity to walk, jog, or just enjoy fresh air. What’s next for the Keystone walking trail loop? Build fitness stations along the trail to increase strength and conditioning, and possibly lighting for late evening walks.
If you’ve ever used Options for Action on the ESMMSC website, you know the value of the resources listed on the page, but you also know the settings, or topics, were limited. Today, ESMMSC is launching a newly redesigned Options for Action featuring more strategies, more settings, and more resources!
Options for Action is a clearinghouse of state and national resources that anyone can use to benefit coalition work. It was created in 2010 with the help of SC DHEC to provide one place for public health coalitions and partners to find strategies, best practices, and promising practices for implementing policy, systems, and environmental change related to healthy eating and active living.
The keyword search function. You can easily find resources based on focus area and strategies by simply typing in a keyword.
The filters. Have you ever shopped online and used filters to find exactly what you were looking for? You can do that with the new Options for Action.
Check out the new Options for Action today, but keep in mind that you might run into a kink or two. If that happens, please let us know so that we can correct the problem. Also, if you know of a resource that would be good for Options for Action, send us an email. We’ll check it out and add it if it’s a good fit!
Mt. Zion AME Church (Greenwood County) youth used some of their funds to purchase PPE.
How do you continue a grant project during a health pandemic while social distancing? That’s a question many communities are answering, including Healthy Young People Empowerment (HYPE) Project teams in the 7th Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.
Through funds provided by SCDHEC, 82 youth from nine AME Young Peoples Division (YPD) programs in seven counties successfully addressed challenges related to COVID-19 restrictions while continuing to work on their healthy eating, active living, safety, and injury prevention projects in their respective churches. The AME churches are located in Dorchester, Florence, Georgetown, Greenwood, Richland, Sumter, and Union counties.
First, many youth teams had to figure out how to connect virtually to discuss their initial project plans and any changes needed based on safety guidelines for COVID-19. Then, they had to figure out how to implement their projects with closed churches and community facilities. On top of that, some teams even dealt with the direct impacts of COVID-19 within their congregations.
“COVID-19 has presented social obstacles for all of us, especially the elderly,” said Trimease K. Carter, MSW, youth engagement manager at Eat Smart Move More South Carolina (ESMMSC). “The YPD projects allowed church members to safely connect and be active even when the church building was not open.”
Carter added, “Churches got creative with their gardens allowing people in the same households to sign up for shifts to work in the gardens together. One team even created Rec 2 Go Kits for families to remain active while at home.”
Youth were able to support efforts to curve the spread of COVID-19 in their churches and communities. Most were able to provide personal protective equipment (e.g., masks, hand sanitizer, disinfectant spray, and wipes) and share COVID-19 prevention tips.
BEFORE: Arthurtown Community Basketball Court
In addition to addressing safety and prevention, youth teams also worked on healthy eating and active living projects. These projects included community/church gardens, church health bulletins, safety signage and handrails, community/church walking clubs, and church-based healthy eating and active living policies. Collectively, the HYPE YPD Teams were able to pass 14 policies at their churches. The youth also took on many roles in implementing the projects. They wrote policies, planted and maintained gardens, established physical activity equipment use guidelines, and delivered presentations to their pastors, congregations, and communities.
AFTER: Arthurtown Community Basketball Court
Youth at Browns Chapel AME Church in Richland County focused on revitalizing a community basketball court to increase access to a safe place to play. According to their Adult Advisor April Alston, “The Arthurtown basketball court is looking a lot more refreshed these days. The once weed-covered court now has a flash of sprawling color.”
Leroy Belton, president of Arthurtown Community Association, said, “The revitalization of the court will make a dramatic, positive impact on our community. Neighborhood kids and adults are excited to play on the court and the HYPE team is proud to play a small part to make a big impact on the community.”
The Bethany AME Church Garden (Union County)
In Union County, youth at Bethany AME Church focused on a garden to provide church members with fresh produce.
“Without this grant, this garden would have been impossible. A lot of churches struggle to have extra funds to do projects such as a garden, so it’s just wonderful to start something that we can continue for a long time,” said Adult Advisor Rena Goode. “We’ve always wanted to have a garden at the church, so this was just a great opportunity.”
HYPE team members show off produce from their garden.
Goode added, “What really made me smile was when one of our youth said when he grows up, he wants to have a garden. I told him ‘You don’t have to wait until you’re adult, you can have a garden right now.’ It’s really good to engage our youth in community projects. It encourages them to think out of the box, get hands-on experiences, but most of all have a positive impact in the community. I hope other AME churches will join in this great opportunity next year.”
This grant round marks the second year of partnering with the 7th Episcopal District AME Church. The next round of grants will open in early 2021.
HOPE in Lancaster, Inc. (HOPE) recently announced the arrival of the next FoodShare SC hub in Lancaster County. The new initiative offers a prepaid box of first-rate, fresh produce once or twice a month, year-round. Anyone can purchase a box for themselves or others at $15 per box. Boxes contain 12-15 farm-fresh produce items that retail stores s in s for $22-24.
The FoodShare program is endorsed and in cooperation with Eat Smart Move More of Lancaster County; the Upper Midlands Rural Health Network; and the Lancaster County Health & Wellness Commission to create access to fresh and healthy food for residents of Lancaster County while alleviating food insecurity. Recent Live Healthy SC survey results showed that many county residents desired to eat healthier but lack access due to food deserts and food insecurity.
“FoodShare’s vision is to ensure access to fresh produce for all in our communities. Fresh, healthy food should not be limited to where you live, your racial and ethnic background, age, income, or whether or not your family has reliable transportation,” said Irini Guda McCarthy, president of the Health & Wellness Commission.
HOPE is honored to join this collaboration, bringing FoodShare to Lancaster County residents and offering the program as part of the agency’s focus to serve more of their neighbors. In July 2020, HOPE hired Tim Hale to oversee and manage the FoodShare Lancaster program.
“These boxes provide healthy, affordable alternatives to Lancaster County residents who reside in a food desert. I am excited about the fact that you can make $10,000 a year or $100,000 a year and still get the same box of first-rate, farm-fresh produce to feed yourself and your family,” said Hale.
HOPE will begin taking orders on October 27th with the first distribution of boxes scheduled for Tuesday, November 17, 2020. For more information about FoodShare Lancaster, contact Tim Hale by calling 803-289-9558.
Eat Smart Move More Kershaw County (ESMMKC) will have a change in leadership in the coming months. Current Chairperson Pam Spivey is retiring from the United Way of Kershaw County after nearly 20 years of service. She has spent eight of those years leading the ESMMKC chapter.
If you’ve ever met Pam, then you probably remember her spunky, positive attitude. That can-do attitude has contributed to the success and growth the ESMMKC chapter has experienced over the years, along with the leadership of other chapter members.
“Pam Spivey has done an excellent job leading ESMMKC and I am thrilled to follow in her food steps, even though those are big shoes to fill. She’s a great example of what a true leader really is and it’s an honor to take her place,” says Mary Reames, chairperson-elect of ESMMKC. “I am so looking forward to my training with her until December. Thank you Pam for all of your hard work through the years!”
Since her time as chair, Pam has worked with ESMMKC to take on healthy eating and active living projects in Kershaw County. As chair, she helped secure in-kind and grant funding to advance initiatives like:
the construction of the new Kershaw County Farmer’s Market,
the construction and completion of the Sweet Gum Trail,
the formation of the HYPE Team and the implementation of their healthy concessions project,
implementation of USC’s Faith, Activity and Nutrition (FAN) training,
implementation of church food pantries in remote areas of the county,
the development of the Kershaw County Mobile Nutrition Center, and
the arrival of FoodShare SC in Kershaw County, among other high-impact initiatives.
“I know that Eat Smart Move More Kershaw County will be in great hands with the new chair Mary Reames,” said Pam. She went on to offer some advice to the chapter, “The funding will come. Stay ready!”
During ESMMSC’s Let’s Go! South Carolina grant project (2012-2017), ESMMKC was funded to make large policy, systems, and environmental changes in the community and Pam was the designated coach. In this role, she was responsible for coordinating local efforts and ensuring the implementation of their action plan. Pam led efforts to leverage over $375,000 in funding to support many of the accomplishments listed above. The ESMMKC chapter also accomplished some policy wins under Pam’s leadership:
the adoption of the Kershaw County Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Greenways Plan to establish county-wide safe and active transportation and recreation environments,
the revision of the Kershaw County Comprehensive Plan to include healthy eating and active living objectives, and
the adoption of an open community use policy by all schools in Kershaw County.
Pam also played an instrumental role with ESMMSC, serving on the Communications and Marketing Committee during the organization’s infancy. She assisted in guiding the development and execution of the communication plan, including brand development.
“Pam’s leadership has contributed greatly to the success of ESMMKC. It has been a pleasure working with her over the years. Whenever I encounter Pam, I can always count on her passion, positive attitude, smile, and fashion.,” said Trimease K. Carter, youth engagement manager at Eat Smart Move More South Carolina (ESMMSC).”
Serving the United Way of Kershaw County since 2001, Pam is currently the Vice President of Campaigns and finds immense joy through her job. She was a dental hygienist and stay-at-home mom for 22 years and finds working the front lines of fundraising challenging and rewarding. Pam and her husband Don have an immediate family of 16, which includes 8 grandchildren. Pam says she’s excited to spend more time with her family, especially her grandchildren when she retires.
Every three years or so, organization leaders gather with their staff and usually an expert to improve their current strategic plan and to reimagine their scope of work. That’s exactly what Eat Smart Move More South Carolina (ESMMSC) did recently with Patrick Jinks of The Jinks Perspective.
“A strategic plan is not like those cooking gadget infomercials where you set it and forget it. It’s a working document that can change as your organization encounters change,” says Jinks. “Strategic plans set the tone for an organization’s work and provide guidance throughout the three-year scope of work.”
Strategic planning can be an opportunity to reimagine an organization’s work and direction. Jinks added, “Strategy is not an event. It is an ongoing, moving, fluid process. It actually never ends. Periodically, an organization will pause to re-clarify its direction, based on today, and framed for tomorrow. Then it’s back to managing the moving parts.”
The strategic planning process took longer than expected, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. But, with the help of technology, Jenks met with ESMMSC board members and staff to understand everyone’s perspectives on the organization and its work. Oftentimes, organizations want to use a professional with a background and knowledge of their field of work, however, engaging with someone not in the field can provide a new perspective for both parties.
“In my eight years of working at Eat Smart Move More South Carolina, I don’t remember us working with a strategic planning professional, so that was welcoming, but at the same time, it was a challenging experience,” says Trimease K. Carter, youth engagement manager. “Patrick made us think hard about everything in the strategic plan — why we wanted to change direction on some things, what is the correct way to word an idea, how do we implement what we’ve come up with, is it realistic.”
After several months of virtual meetings, deep thought, reflection, and a lot of brainstorming, a new strategic plan came to fruition and a new direction was set with an improved mission: We provide communities with proven and sustainable approaches that lead to increased access to healthy choices for all people.
During ESMMSC’s strategic planning process, communities across the country were responding to social injustices and the staff was reminded about the importance of being intentional in addressing equity within communities and within the organization itself. Staff came up with five strategic intentions in which they all address diversity, equity, or inclusion for everyone.
The three-year strategy is to:
Integrate our core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion with a focus on racial equity throughout the entire organization.
Strengthen and focus our advocacy efforts to align all levels on the equity component of our work.
Scale The Healthy Young People Empowerment (HYPE) Project for mission impact in and beyond South Carolina.
Foster statewide collective success with diverse stakeholders.
Re-imagine a cohesive brand and messaging framework.
“With the help of Patrick, we developed a strategic plan that focuses on our core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” says Meg Stanley, executive director of ESMMSC. “We tend to overlook these values because we get stuck in ruts or we assume our chapters and partners understand that diversity, equity, and inclusion are core components of our work. So, by intentionally including this in our strategic plan, we are creating accountability for our staff and ensuring these values become a forethought and not an afterthought.”
Stanley added, “We hope our chapters and partners appreciate the hard work put into this new plan and understand the direction in which we want to go. We can only see this as a win-win for the residents of South Carolina.”
Over the past several months, you’ve heard a lot on the news and social media about the challenges educators are facing and continue to face due to the coronavirus pandemic. But, what about youth-serving organizations and programs? How are these professionals addressing their own challenges of reaching youth and continuing their programs?
“After hearing concerns from some of our Youth Summit Planning Committee members, we felt like this would be a good opportunity to convene a group of youth and professionals to discuss the challenges to providing services to students that were traditionally offered in the school setting prior to COVID-19 and exchange ideas on how to overcome them,” said Trimease K. Carter, youth engagement manager at Eat Smart Move More South Carolina.
The planning committee recommended partnering with Together SC, an organization that focuses on South Carolina’s nonprofit community, to host a two-part webinar series to help youth-serving organizations continue their important work. ABLE South Carolina, Family Connections of South Carolina, the 7th District AME Church, and S.H.E Is Me Mentoring also partnered and planned the series, Re-Imaging Program Delivery To Students During COVID-19.
Part one featured a youth panel providing perspectives of how to best reach and serve them during this time. Some of the tips they offered to youth-serving organizations included: offering programming on evenings rather than weekends, texting rather than emailing, and sending multiple messages and being persistent. Perhaps the most important tip was that youth are not on Facebook. The first webinar also featured Vicki Ladd, State School Nurse Consultant at SCDHEC. She shared considerations for working with students and youth as schools reopen.
During part two, ABLE South Carolina Director of Youth Transition Paige Maxwell moderated an expert panel where panelists shared their experiences delivering school-based programs during COVID-19. The panel included Carena Jones, school social worker at Eau Claire High School; Paige Selking, project director at Ending the Silence National Alliance on Mental Illness South Carolina Chapter; Tabitha Strickland, assistant principal at Kershaw County School District; and Amanda Metzger, director of community engagement at Healthy Learners. The panelists were able to give insight on the impacts of COVID-19 on programming, challenges to reaching students, changes that they’ve implemented, relationships with funders, and moving forward.
A recording of both webinars is available to view here.
Eat Smart Move More Kershaw County (ESMMKC) will have a change in leadership in the coming months. Current Chairperson Pam Spivey is retiring from the United Way of Kershaw County after nearly 20 years of service. She has spent eight of those years leading the ESMMKC chapter.