Efforts Target American Indian Youth For Diabetes Prevention, Encourage Minorities To Donate Tissue, Organs, Begin HIV/AIDS Ministries In Communities

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• Farmington, N.M.: CDC has chosen the Central Consolidated School District to participate in a new curriculum program designed to reduce children's risk for diabetes, the Farmington Daily Times reports. The school district was chosen because of its large American Indian population, CDC spokesperson Rachel Ciccarone said. Under the program, fourth- and fifth-graders will receive a series of picture books featuring an American Indian character who learns about healthy habits from his ancestors. CDC officials consulted with Indian Health Service to develop the books. Officials hope the program will encourage students to adopt healthy behaviors (Landry, Farmington Daily Times, 7/29).
  
  
• National Minority Donor Awareness Day: The day is designed to inform people that more minorities are needed to donate organs and tissue, the Rensselaer Republican reports. Minorities in particular are encouraged to schedule an appointment that day to donate blood (Rensselaer Republican, 7/24).
  
  
• Indianapolis, Ind.: The Lilly Endowment has awarded the Wishard Memorial Foundation with a $2 million grant to benefit the George H. Rawls, M.D. Scholarship Fund, which helps minority students interested in pursuing medical training at the Indiana University School of Medicine, Inside Indiana Business reports. In addition, the university's Medical Group-Primary Care has committed to a $2 million challenge grant for the scholarship's endowment, which will provide one additional dollar for every two dollars raised. The foundation is hoping to raise $4 million for the challenge grant. It is estimated that the $6 million endowment will provide full tuition grants for 10 minority students (Inside Indiana Business, 7/28).
  
  
• Louisville, Ky.: The international HIV/AIDS ministry program The Balm in Gilead came to the city to lead workshops on establishing effective local HIV/AIDS ministries, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports. The Balm in Gilead program seeks to "improve the health status of people of the African Diaspora by building the capacity of faith communities to address life-threatening diseases, especially HIV/AIDS." Relia Bailey, executive director of Canaan Community Development, said that the workshops are geared toward religious leaders, churches and community organizations (Hall, Louisville Courier-Journal, 7/26).
  
  
• New Jersey: The Puerto Rican Action Committee of Southern New Jersey on Tuesday hosted the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation's Latina Breast Cancer Awareness Program, aimed at Hispanic women in Central and Southern New Jersey, Today's Sunbeam reports. As part of the event, women received bilingual material on prevention and self-exam charts with recommendations from the program. According to Mary Palacios, director of New Jersey Cancer Education and Early Detection, cultural barriers are the leading cause for long-term, undiagnosed breast cancer in Hispanic women (Simione, Today's Sunbeam, 7/30).