Nov 19, 2019 | News
What do you get when you take a healthy eating, active living conference to the Pee Dee? You get the largest gathering of public health and community coalition partners ever!
With more than 219 people in attendance, Florence and the Pee Dee were the hosts of the 2019 Leadership Summit for Healthy Communities, and it did not disappoint! More than half of those in attendance (56%) were there for the first time, and the Pee Dee accounted for 31 percent of the audience with organizations having a statewide presence coming in at the top at 33 percent.
“A few of our goals in having the Summit in Florence was to reach communities in the Pee Dee, spotlight their work through some of the breakout sessions, and to broaden our reach across the state,” said Meg Stanley, executive director at Eat Smart Move More South Carolina. “We are very pleased to have met our goals, and we look forward to partnering with not just those in the Pee Dee, but with all of our new and existing partners to reduce obesity and chronic disease rates in South Carolina.”
Out of the 15 breakout sessions offered, four sessions focused on healthy eating and active living initiatives happening in the Pee Dee region. All other breakout sessions addressed strategies that can be duplicated in any area of the state – whether partially or completely. One of the most popular breakout sessions came from Growing COB (Calhoun, Orangeburg, Bamberg), a community coalition that has successfully built and sustained community gardens in the rural, underserved tri-county area through partnerships and leveraging resources.
One attendee said, “Excellent work. The information shared and photos provided makes it evident that Growing COB is an effective program. This presentation has indeed sparked great interest for me to advocate for community garden opportunities! I was truly blessed as well as inspired by such a worthwhile and much needed opportunity for communities to thrive!!!”
Evaluation is a key component in any project and event of this magnitude. Along with the Leadership Summit Planning Committee, ESMMSC will use the collected data to plan future Summits, ensure event content aligns with the needs of the community, and better communicate with our partners and community coalitions. The information will also be used to plan webinars and other opportunities throughout the year.
What topics can you look forward to seeing during a webinar, workshop, or future Leadership Summit? Those surveyed said Funding and Leveraging Resources, Youth Engagement, and Capacity Building. The 2020 Leadership Summit for Healthy Communities date and location will be announced soon. Keep your eyes open and be ready to mark your calendar!
Sep 19, 2019 | News
It’s no secret that the South is the Bible Belt of the country, an informal region in religion that plays a strong role in the daily lives of millions of people. It’s also a known fact that church attendance across the South is generally higher than the nation’s average, making healthy change more tangible. That’s why faith-based healthy eating and active living strategies are important pieces of Eat Smart Move More South Carolina’s (ESMMSC) work.
At the Leadership Summit for Healthy Communities, faith-based breakout sessions are almost always included on the agenda to give communities ideas on how to make their places of worship healthier environments, and this year is no different. On October 29 in Florence, Leadership Summit attendees have three opportunities to learn about current work being done in South Carolina that can be duplicated in their own faith-based communities.
- Engaging Youth as Partners in Healthy Eating and Active Living: A Panel Discussion. During this session, three rural communities will share their successes in implementing The HYPE Project. Melissa Buckner, adult advisor for St. Peter’s AME Church in Walterboro, SC, has helped teens implement policy changes at the church through a grant provided by the Young People’s Division (YPD) of the 7th District AME Church and ESMMSC. Other speakers who are implementing The HYPE Project through other grant opportunities are Calvin Whitmire of Bridging the Gap Advocacy in Laurens and Mary Kayrouz of United Way of Anderson.
- Grassroots Approaches to Increasing Healthy Food Access in Rural and Low-Income Areas. In Orangeburg, Growing Calhoun Orangeburg and Calhoun (COB) have been highly successful with community gardens and supply low-income families with free produce. Growing COB has done this by working with local churches and other partners to create and maintain the gardens.
- The Power of the Pulpit. LiveWell Greenville has achieved success with their LiveWell at Worship program. Margaret Stephens will talk about how LiveWell Greenville has effectively engaged with faith communities – something that isn’t always achievable. She will also explain the LiveWell at Worship program, and why relationship building is a necessary step in achieving success within the faith-based community.
To attend these sessions, register for the Leadership Summit for Healthy Communities by October 16th. The Leadership Summit will be on October 29 at the Florence Center in Florence, SC.
ESMMSC Work in Faith-Based Communities
Through professional development opportunities, like the Leadership Summit, community and faith leaders can establish working relationships with other leaders around the state and learn how to implement healthy change in their faith-based communities.
Faith, Activity, and Nutrition
Earlier this year, ESMMSC partnered with the Prevention Research Center at the University of South Carolina to host a Faith, Activity, and Nutrition (FAN) Train the Trainer workshop. Twenty-six individuals from around the state became Community Health Advisors to teach the FAN program in their communities. Recently, Eat Smart Move More Kershaw County hosted the FAN training. After educating more than 120 churches on the FAN concept, representatives from 14 churches learned how to implement the FAN program. Now that church leaders are implementing changes, ESMM Kershaw County will bring everyone together in the fall to discuss success and challenges.
The HYPE YPD Project
Fourteen YPDs of the 7th District AME Church received a grant from ESMMSC to learn the curriculum-based HYPE Project and to implement healthy eating and active living strategies at their church and within their communities. Each church received up to $800.00 to work on one policy change and one church- or community-based project.
The HYPE YPD teams used the FAN policy planning guide to advocate for policies at their churches, such as removing salt shakers from tables; offering water, fruit, and vegetables at church functions that serve food; scheduling physical activity breaks during services and meetings; and eliminating fried foods. In addition to these policies, HYPE YPD teams are creating gardens and walking paths, advocating for roadway signs, and educating church members on healthy eating and active living.
If your church is a member of the 7th District AME Church and you would like your YDP to get involved in The HYPE Project, grant opportunities will become available through ESMMSC soon. Contact Trimease Carter, youth engagement manager, at trimease@eatsmartmovemoresc.org about this opportunity. You can also apply for a Let’s Go! mini-grant in January 2020. Visit esmmsc.org for more information.
Sep 9, 2019 | News
Rail trails have become popular amenities for municipalities and users over the years, and Florence is no exception. Just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the Florence Center and the Hampton Inn is the Florence Rail Trail, a close to 5-mile paved trail frequented by locals and visitors alike.
As our returning Summit attendees know, we provide time for physical activity before, during, and after the Summit.
- For attendees staying overnight at the Hampton Inn, we encourage you to pack your running or walking gear and take advantage of the scenic and peaceful Rail Trail.
- Summit attendees will have an opportunity to break for optional physical activities like yoga, line dancing, and walking at your own pace. The Florence Rail Trail can be accessed through Veterans’ Park, located next to the Florence Center’s parking lot.
- If you want to wait until after the Summit to get a good afternoon run in, we encourage you to do to just that!
The Florence Rail Trail extends takes you through residential neighborhoods, under busy lanes of traffic, and by businesses of all types. It’s a popular trail that truly provides access to Florence for all types of travelers and physical activity enthusiasts.
Sep 8, 2019 | News
The Leadership Summit for Healthy Communities’ Planning Committee is pleased to announce nationally-recognized leadership development expert Anton Gunn will provide the keynote address on October 29 at the Florence Center. Gunn is a former senior advisor to President Barack Obama and the world’s leading authority on Socially Conscious Leadership.
Leadership Summit attendees will learn what is required to become a legacy leader – a leader who drives others to be successful. According to Gunn, “If you want to be a leader that has impact, you must increase your skills in the areas that will have the greatest impact on others. It’s simple. The better your skills, the better your impact.”
Leaders are found on all levels of communities, businesses, and organizations. Gunn says that you don’t have to have a big title or the corner office to be a good leader. He says that all you need to do is decide to be great for other people. This is what impact leaders do.
From playing SEC football and being the first African American in history elected to the South Carolina legislature from his district early in his career, to now working as a C-level executive for an academic health system and serving on multiple boards, he has spent his life helping people build diverse, high-performing teams and world-class leadership culture.
Gunn is expected to provide Leadership Summit attendees with an inspirational message they can take back and use in their work to increase impact not only as a leader in their organization or coalition, but also with healthy eating and active living strategies.
Gunn has a Masters degree in Social Work from the University of South Carolina and was a Resident Fellow at Harvard University. He is the bestselling author of The Presidential Principles and has been featured in TIME magazine, Inc. magazine, the Wall St Journal, BBC News, NPR and on Good Morning America. As an international speaker and consultant, he has worked with organizations like Microsoft, Sodexo, KPMG, Verizon Wireless, Aetna, American College of Surgeons, FINRA, and the Boeing Company.
Be a part of something great at this year’s Leadership Summit. Register today!
Aug 22, 2019 | News
For the first time since beginning the Youth Summit seven years ago, the event sold out with 165 youth and adults from around the state in attendance, that’s an increase of 62 percent compared to last year. Over 16 groups representing 12 of South Carolina’s counties gathered for a fun day at Riverbanks Zoo & Gardens to learn about the importance of being One CommUNITY and to celebrate the successes of Eat Smart Move More’s Healthy Young People Empowerment (HYPE) Project youth teams.
The July 23rd event is not just about healthy eating and active living but includes social justice issues of the past and present to help youth connect their work with policy change of all topics. Dr. Jennifer Gunter and Preston Clinkscales of the SC Collaborative for Race and Reconciliation kicked of the Youth Summit with an activity that explained the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the real stories behind remarkable change.
Keynote Speaker Moses Washington, a 2019 Morehouse College graduate and former Bamberg County HYPE Team member, shared his story with attendees and left them with tips for being successful. Moses stressed the importance of getting involved with 
community groups, organizations, and causes to help build leadership skills. He also encouraged youth to set life goals and to work hard to achieve success.
During a special session, youth created posters in support of ESMMSC’s SNAP incentives campaign. “These kids did a fantastic job at designing posters that we will use as postcards to reach out to our legislators,” said Phil Ford, ESMMSC’s Policy and Advocacy Manager. “We will 
display the posters at the Leadership Summit in October and let our partners choose the winning designs.”
During the Youth Summit, we also recognized HYPE Teams who participated in video contest. The first-place winner was Live Oak AME Church (Richland County) and the second-place winner was St. Peters AME Church (Colleton County). After a morning of sessions, youth explored the zoo while completing a scavenger hunt. Not surprisingly, many youth indicated that the scavenger hunt was their favorite part of the day and for several attendees, it was their first time ever visiting Riverbanks Zoo.
The Youth Summit was made possible by our generous supporters:
