礼貌的照片Savannah Paschal started to underst而且 the power individuals possess to help their 当他在校园高中读书的时候，他就加入了社区. 无论是组织一次饼干募捐活动 to benefit a homeless shelter or serving as president of the art club, Paschal found 参与的奖励.
“我非常投入，”帕斯卡说. “一个简单的教训是，解决问题 你们可以看到.”
At 威奇托 State University, Paschal continued to exp而且 the desire to serve the community 通过与 Alce su voz (西班牙语的意思是“说出来”.”). 联盟的目的是mprove health 股本 Spanish speakers 而且 speakers of indigenous languages in 堪萨斯.
Paschal, now a senior Spanish education major, wrote a proposal that helped Alce su voz earn a $75,000 Building Power 而且 Equity Partnership grant from the 堪萨斯 Health 基金会. The grant will support civic engagement 而且 the group’s work toward health 股本 Spanish speakers 而且 speakers of indigenous languages in 堪萨斯.
Alce Su Voz also recently received a $250,000 grant from 扩大覆盖面 for a vaccine equity project for indigenous communities from Guatemala in 堪萨斯 from the Centers for Disease Control 而且 Prevention 而且 a $375,000 grant from the Office of Minority Health of the US Department of Health 而且 Human Services for the first year of a three-year project to improve health care 堪萨斯州西班牙语使用者的语言访问.
Paschal博士的工作. Rachel Showstack 而且 Alce su voz inspired the grant proposal. Showstack的《亚博体育》.S.的课堂向帕斯卡举了例子，说明学生是如何 can help a community by letting stakeholders take part in research.
“She wants (学生) to create projects that can be applied to real-world concepts,” 复活节的说. “You shouldn’t feel hesitant to confront problems within your community. 去做事情. 放手去做吧.”
The grant proposal that Paschal helped with will assist individuals who need language assistance attain the same quality of health care 而且 information as those whose dominant 语言是英语. Improved access to interpreters 而且 bilingual clinicians, for example, are crucial 卫生公平.
亚博体育高年级学生
“I always encourage my 学生 to pursue the projects they write proposals for,” Showstack说. “The 堪萨斯 Health 基金会 really underst而且s the importance of 公民参与促进卫生公平. 他们看到了提案的价值， 因为这种理解.”
The grant from KHF will be used to hold a series of Spanish-language community engagement 而且 education workshops in 威奇托 而且 southwest 堪萨斯 in collaboration with the 威奇托-based Latino health education organization Salud + Bienestar 而且 创世纪家庭健康, a federally qualified health center with clinics in Dodge City, Garden City 而且 自由. The first workshop, “El compromiso cívio en nuestra comunidad hispana” (‘Civic engagement in our Hispanic community’), was held on Oct. 8、常青树社区 中心及图书馆. The next event will address communicating with legislators during 将于明年2月31日举行. 11个在同一个地方.
“These grants show that we’ve really gotten somewhere,” said Showstack, who founded 2020年Alce su voz. “We really need this additional support in order to get closer to our objective of addressing the problem of language access in health care from 很多不同的方向. We also need to continue to raise awareness in the community 而且 support community members who need language assistance in underst而且ing their 权利.”
As Hispanic enrollment increases at 威奇托 State, the university is on track to earn designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution by 2030. 华盛顿州立大学刚刚到达新兴 Hispanic Serving Institution status with its current 16% Hispanic student enrollment. Work such as Paschal’s proposal shows 学生 they can collaborate with communities to address issues that impact their family 而且 friends.
“These projects give an amazing opportunity for 学生 to engage in something they care about, 而且 that is very important for student retention,” Showstack说.
