Supercharge YOUR baby’s neural connections at TurboBabies.com.
View the on-camera interview with Daytime host Farron Hipp at https://www.wfla.com/daytime/jwb-and-evara-health-partner-to-rev-up-turbo-babies/
Category: JWB News
Early Childhood Campaign Aims to Ensure Babies are On Track
The Director of Strategic Communications for the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County, April Putzulu, and Pediatric Medical Director at Evara Health, Dr. Sarah Kelley, joined Gayle Guyardo, the host of the global health and wellness show, Bloom, to share more about their early childhood campaign that aims to ensure babies remain on track developmentally.
For more information and to find easy tips, activities, and resources, visit TurboBabies.com. Parents can also sign up to join the Pit Crew to receive free gifts on their baby’s birthdays.
View the on-camera interview at https://www.wfla.com/bloom-tampa-bay/early-childhood-campaign-aims-to-ensure-babies-are-on-track/
Hundreds Gather for 6th Annual “Rising Above” Youth Explosion
With a packed auditorium of Pinellas County high schoolers, the 6th Annual “Rising Above” Youth Explosion concluded its three-day event with a focus on teens and mental health on Friday, July 21st.
The event was hosted by the Clearwater Neighborhood Family Center, Juvenile Welfare Board, NAMI Pinellas, and St. Petersburg College Clearwater Campus.
Highlights included a dramatic pantomime skit that depicted how mental illness affect youth and families, performed by students from the City of Clearwater’s North Greenwood Recreation Center, Arts Conservatory for Teens, and Gibbs High School. The performance was followed by a panel of youth with lived mental health experiences who courageously shared their journeys and fielded questions from their peers.
In December 2021, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a rare public health advisory on youth mental health to address what he called an emerging crisis exacerbated by pandemic hardships. In May 2023, the Surgeon General once again issued a warning to Americans, calling the use of social media by children and adolescents an “urgent public health issue.”
The Juvenile Welfare Board invests in the Pinellas Children’s Mental Health Initiative, partnering with more than 100 organizations to intervene early in the lives of children, destigmatize mental illness, and host youth suicide prevention conversations to grow hope. The goal is to make caring for one’s mental health synonymous with one’s physical health.
“One day, we will only need to say health and it will be understood we mean a child’s physical and mental health,” added Rebecca Albert, Senior Strategic Initiative Manager with the Juvenile Welfare Board, who oversees the Children’s Mental Health Initiative.
To learn more visit: www.jwbpinellas.org/childrens-mental-health
View the event Facebook album.
Featured photos and video clips from the event are available to media upon request. Email communications@jwbpinellas.org.
JWB Investments Put Nutritious Food on Pinellas Family Tables—and Take at Least One Worry Off their Plates
All children deserve the opportunity to live, learn, grow, and thrive in homes, schools, and neighborhoods that are supportive and safe.
Consistent access to nourishing food is key to their healthy development. Yet one in five children in Pinellas County do not have enough nutritious food for an active, healthy life.
More families than ever—two in five—live below the ALICE threshold, meaning they are employed but struggle to make ends meet. And while housing, utility, and food costs are rising. But paychecks aren’t.
Recognizing the extraordinary need, JWB’s Board invested in bulk food purchases and a centralized hub with the St. Petersburg Free Clinic (SPFC). In turn, the Free Clinic orchestrates the distribution of food to dozens of partner sites, feeding children and families countywide.
“While the pandemic saw historic numbers of families seeking food assistance, their need for nutritious food is only increasing, said Jennifer Yeagley, St. Petersburg Free Clinic CEO.
“Last year, JWB led the charge in SPFC’s ability to distribute more than 20.4 million pounds of food throughout Pinellas County, serving 1.2 million individuals in 2022 alone. They do this through distributing food to partner food pantries, churches, other nonprofit organizations, neighborhood family centers, and even preschools.”
On average, the Free Clinic serves more than 135,000 individuals a month across Pinellas County, a 51% increase year over year.
This is achieved thanks to dozens of food partners across the county, like Dunedin Cares.
Kristina Garcia, Dunedin Cares Director, said need has increased since the pandemic and many cannot afford to purchase healthy meals. They’ve seen recent spikes in families with children seeking help as federal food stamp (SNAP) benefits are decreasing due to federal funds for COVID/pandemic relief ending. Therefore, Dunedin Cares’ focus is on healthy food for families, like meats, dairy, eggs, fresh produce.
Another North County partner, FEAST, serves families five days a week, including evening hours for working families—and offers special things for families with children, like providing a birthday cake on a child’s birthday!
The Free Clinic also coordinates JWB’s funded food program, distributing pre-packaged meals to kids at schools, NFCs, and after school programs and filling food gaps during weekends and summers…to the tune of 200,000 meals last year!
Plus, through partnerships with 11 preschools, their Fresh Sprouts program fosters healthy eating habits for young children, zero to five, offering weekly fresh produce, recipe cards, and even interactive activity ideas to promote connection at mealtime for families!
The Free Clinic also partners with JWB’s Neighborhood Family Centers to stock their pantries and support food distribution efforts, reaching families where they live and serving special populations.
Anthony Verdeja, Family Center on Deafness Director, said, “We are so grateful for SPFC. The deaf community did try to take advantage of the food pantries in the area but were not able to communicate with the folks working there. We fill that need once a month.”
Verdeja also shared that many families are asking for more food, not necessarily for themselves, but to share with others in their neighborhood, and that these families feel more secure knowing that can receive as much food as they need.
Thanks to JWB’s investments in the St. Petersburg Free Clinic, Pinellas families can put healthy, nutritious food on their tables…and take at least one worry off their plates!
Jennifer Yeagley, St. Petersburg Free Clinic CEO, said, “We would not be able to keep children healthy, focused, and growing without the critical support of JWB.”
Watch the related video at https://youtu.be/4ydOe6LUkGk
Governor Ron DeSantis Appoints Five to the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County
On July 21, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the appointment of Brian Aungst Jr., Kristen Gnage, Michael Mikurak, James Millican, and Melissa Rutland to the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County.
Brian Aungst Jr.
Aungst is an Attorney and Shareholder at Macfarlane Ferguson and McMullen, P.A. Active in his community, he serves on the Pinellas County Charter Review Board. Aungst earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and telecommunications and his juris doctor from the University of Florida.
Kristen Gnage
Gnage is the Assistant State Attorney for the Sixth Judicial Circuit. She is a member of the Pinellas Chapter of the Florida Association of Women Lawyers and the Asian Pacific American Bar Association. Gnage earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Boston College and her juris doctor from Stetson University.
Michael Mikurak
Mikurak is currently retired. He was previously an International Consulting Partner for Accenture, PLC, and currently serves as Chairman of the board of HEPCO Holdings, LLC. Mikurak earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Rider University.
James Millican
Millican is the Division Chief and Fire Marshall of Lealman Fire District. He is the Chairman of the Lealman Asian Neighborhood Family Center and a board member of the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board. Millican earned his emergency medical technician and state firefighter certification from St. Petersburg College.
Melissa Rutland
Rutland is the President of the Rutland Florida Gulf Group. She serves on the St. Petersburg Area YMCA Board of Directors and is a member of the Certified Commercial Investment Member Institute. Rutland earned her bachelor’s degree from Flagler College.
These appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.
See the release as originally published at https://www.flgov.com/2023/07/21/governor-ron-desantis-appoints-five-to-the-juvenile-welfare-board-of-pinellas-county/
JWB Director of Strategic Communications Honored by the Florida Commission on the Status of Women
On June 28th, JWB Director of Strategic Communications April Putzulu was presented the Florida Commission on the Status of Women “Spirit of Community” Award.
She was one of 11 women from across the state celebrated by the Commission and their colleagues, peers, family, and friends during a luncheon in Orlando. April is the sole winner in the Tampa Bay region. JWB CEO Beth Houghton and several of April’s colleagues were thrilled to accompany her to Orlando and celebrate this professional accolade.
April was recognized for nearly four decades of service to Florida’s children and families and her passion for developing creative prevention programs and campaigns—many of which remain in existence today.
Today, at JWB, April continues to change the lives of children and families in Pinellas County, creating and leading innovative and high-impact public education and awareness campaigns.
She created the Sleep Baby Safely campaign, which has reduced the number of infant deaths in Pinellas County by half, was recently recognized as a best practice, and, as of 2023, is being replicated statewide.
April is currently leading a new birth-to-three campaign, Turbo Babies, to support parents and caregivers as their child’s first and best teachers by sharing Turbo Tips and everyday activities that encourage early connections and nurture a baby’s drive to learn.
During her remarks at the event, April praised the other outstanding winners in the room and remembered her mentor and friend, Sallie Parks. The awards ceremony and April’s acceptance are available to watch here: https://thefloridachannel.org/videos/6-28-23-commission-on-the-status-of-womens-spirit-of-community-awards-ceremony/
April Putzulu Recognized by the Florida Commission on the Status of Women for Her “Spirit of Community”
The Florida Commission on the Status of Women (the Commission) has honored JWB Director of Communications April Putzulu with its Spirit of Community Award.
Eleven women across the state of Florida were recognized, but April is the only Tampa Bay honoree. She was celebrated for 36 years of service to Florida’s children and families and her passion for developing creative prevention programs and campaigns—many of which remain in existence today.
April’s career has centered on children and youth; first as a probation officer with the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) and later with Operation PAR leading substance prevention programs, which resulted in two National Safe & Drug Free Schools designations. Next, motivated by her belief that all children should have opportunities, April oversaw the strategic work of DJJ Boards and Councils that led to new Teen Court programs and the first PACE Centers for Girls in Pinellas and Pasco counties.
Moving from delinquency to child welfare, April has also served as a connector of people and ideas. She was instrumental in forging a relationship with the Tampa Bay Rays, Rays pitcher James Shields, and his wife Ryane to form the Big Game James Club, giving hundreds of foster children the opportunity to attend major league baseball games each year.
Passionate about finding forever homes for foster children, she led efforts to create the Heart Gallery of Pinellas and Pasco, and partnered with the media on feature stories, including the viral piece by Tampa Bay Times’ Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lane DeGregory about 16-year-old Davion who wanted “someone, anyone” to adopt him.
Here at JWB, April continues to change the lives of children and families in Pinellas County. Over the last decade she has significantly expanded JWB’s major public education and awareness campaigns. She created the Sleep Baby Safely campaign, which has reduced the number of infant deaths in Pinellas County by half, was recently recognized as a best practice, and, as of 2023, is being replicated statewide.
April is currently leading a new birth-to-three campaign, Turbo Babies, fueled by JWB to support parents and caregivers as their child’s first and best teachers by sharing Turbo Tips and everyday activities that encourage early connections and nurture a baby’s drive to learn.
JWB CEO Beth Houghton said, “April has dedicated her life to service. While the world’s problems are indeed great, her desire to improve the lives of others is far greater. She does not see the obstacles that overwhelm most but eyes opportunities to improve the lives of others. April was once described to me by a peer as ‘someone whose heart makes it happen.’ I couldn’t agree more. We’re proud to have April at JWB—and to celebrate this great honor with her.”
View the announcement at https://fcsw.net/spirit-awards/
Mary Wyatt Allen Made Volunteering in St. Petersburg Her Life’s Work
“Hers is the swirl of skirts they watch for, the careful waves of honey-colored hair,” Shelby Oppel wrote for the St. Petersburg Times in a 1999 profile for a series titled “25 Who Mattered.”
“One glimpse, and a host can breathe again, enjoy the party, record the glittery success. Mary Wyatt Allen has arrived. Her presence has rare currency in St. Petersburg society…but it is in another, equally extraordinary world, where her reign has mattered more. It is a world of abused girls and homeless men, of the mentally ill and the hungry. Allen has worked a lifetime to help the people she was never born to be.”
The list of places Allen worked with, both before and after that profile, could make up this entire remembrance.
Here’s a fraction: All Children’s Hospital. Florence Crittenton Home. Christmas Toy Shop. YWCA. Centennial Celebration Activities Committee. Family Service Centers. She also served on an equally long list of city boards and committees. Another fraction: St. Petersburg Housing Authority. Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County. St. Petersburg Firefighter’s Pension Board. Pinellas County Arts Council.
“I think just everyone knew that if you asked Mary Wyatt to volunteer for something, not only would she jump in, she would get the job done,” said son Niel Allen.
Allen died May 19 at 90 of natural causes. She leaves behind dozens of causes that are in better shape because of her.
Not Mary
“She is the first to say she is lucky she could give so much,” that 1999 profile reported. “Her father was Nathaniel W. ‘Niel’ Upham, the man who built Shores Acres … With family money and a knack for investing, she never needed to do more than raise her two sons — alone for the most part after an early divorce. But she did much more, with stubbornness and grace and a notorious precision.”
Allen’s father helped spur the foundation of All Children’s Hospital. Her mother lobbied for the county tax authority to raise money for children’s services and juvenile welfare. She took their example, son Niel Allen said, “and ran with it, and it went to levels beyond what I’m sure they could have imagined.”
Allen was known for getting things done. And if you didn’t know her full first name was Mary Wyatt, you soon would.
More than a few people have their own “not Mary” stories, friend Elise Minkoff said.
“It’s a club with a unique membership because you truly only make that mistake once.”
Allen became a mentor for Minkoff and showed her that volunteering isn’t glamorous work.
“You are never just to chair a committee,” Minkoff said. “You must be able to step in and do the things that need to be done to fulfill a charity’s mission, whether it be stuffing envelopes, packing food. No job was too small and no job was too big.”
But when Allen did it, it was work that broke barriers.
“She wasn’t exactly a feminist, she liked to have men open doors for her and things like that,” said Niel Allen. “But she was able to sit at a boardroom table with men on an equal level, and she did command respect.”
“She was ahead of her time. Her mom was ahead of her time,” Minkoff agreed. “It’s been a generation of women who advocated for our community and served on boards where women didn’t serve and didn’t do it for the glory and didn’t do it for anything but the fact that they were serving.”
When Pigs Fly
Allen’s accomplishments match her long list of causes.
Her work earned her the first Ms. Sun award from civic group The Suncoasters. Before her, there had only been misters. She helped raise money to enlarge and modernize the St. Petersburg Museum of History. She was one of a few people who helped open the Palladium Theater. She spent eight years with the Juvenile Welfare Board, the Times reported in 1999, “where she steered a mismanaged group back into voters’ good graces, even helping it win a tax increase to better aid struggling children.”
Allen brought logic to every cause and group she worked for, said longtime friend Sharon Jackson. And in her home, Allen had a whimsical collection that showed her gumption.
“She had a collection of flying pigs,” Jackson said.
Allen believed in St. Petersburg. And she believed that, with dedication, anything was possible.
“It was the way she functioned,” Jackson said. “If she saw a need and she had answers to it, even if it was far out, she worked for it and got it done.”
Read the article, and additional images, as originally published at https://www.tampabay.com/life-culture/2023/06/17/mary-wyatt-allen-obituary-st-petersburg/
Youth Group Offers Swimming Classes to Mark National Water Safety Month
Summer vacation has started for Pinellas County school students, meaning thousands of kids will be heading to private and public pools during the next two months. But last year’s test program by CFY, formerly Clearwater For Youth, showed many youngsters can’t swim.
That pilot program targeted Pinellas County families in Title 1 elementary schools and encouraged children grades K-2 to participate in program on water safety skills. It featured 650 students from two area elementary schools and revealed that 80% of the kids had never received water safety instruction and 45% were unsafe swimmers.
This year, CFY expanded the program to include five Pinellas schools—McMullen Booth, Skycrest, Eisenhower, Belleair and San Jose. It also has partnered with the Juvenile Welfare Board, the American Red Cross, Epic Wings, PDQ and the city of Clearwater, with the aim of teaching upwards of 1,100 kids how to swim.
“The financial obligations per school are close to $15,000, so it takes great partners like JWB and the Red Cross, who are able to assist in the instructor cost, transportation, swim shirts and other supplies,” said Brooke Bennett, the three-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer who serves as CFY’s development manager.
CFY Executive Director Kevin Dunbar said officials are “looking forward to expanding the Title 1 Water Safety Program to all areas of Pinellas County (and) are already in discussion with St. Pete, Pinellas Park and Tarpon Springs on how we can add this program to their areas.”
Dunbar also highlighted CFY’s growth over the past two years, which includes investing more than $500,000 in post-secondary education needs for 72 local kids, as well as awarding $175,000 so far this year to help fund youth athletic registration fees, travel grants and athletic equipment purchases.
“I think those are some pretty impressive numbers,” said Dunbar.
For more information on CFY and its youth sports and academic programs, visit cfypinellas.org.
View the article as originally published at https://www.tbnweekly.com/clearwater_beacon/article_15ed2ede-03cf-11ee-bec0-576a7ae85805.html
No-Cost Summer Clinic Screenings In Pinellas County Begin June 19
The summer break has just begun, but it’s not too early for families to get a jump on the next school year by taking care of their child’s health screenings starting Monday, June 19.
The Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County (DOH-Pinellas) is again offering its annual summer Back to School clinic services to kindergarten through grade 12 students to prepare for the 2023-24 school year.
Please note that children going into Pre-K are not eligible.
The school-based health clinics will provide school, sports, and well-child physicals, including immunizations, at no cost to clients.
Vision screenings provided by Preserve Vision Florida will be available at select locations, and basic dental services provided by DOH-Pinellas will also be available. The last day to receive services is Monday, Aug. 7.
The services will be provided at no cost by appointment only between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the following locations:
- Boca Ciega High School Clinic: 924 58th St. S., St. Petersburg
- Gibbs High School Clinic: 850 34th St. S., St. Petersburg
- Pinellas Park High School Clinic: 6305 118th Ave N., Pinellas Park
For appointments, call (727) 824-6900 and select menu option 4.
A parent or guardian must bring the child’s immunization and medical records and be present for services. If the parent is not able to be present, a Designation of Health Care Surrogate form must be completed in advance and brought to the appointment. Forms are located at bit.ly/SummerClinicForms
All Pinellas children entering kindergarten on Aug. 10 or any students enrolling in the state for the first time must present a school entrance physical, dated within one year of school enrollment.
DOH-Pinellas’ school-based health clinics are a partnership with the Juvenile Welfare Board, the Pinellas County School Board, Suncoast Center, Inc., and the administrations of Boca Ciega, Gibbs, Northeast, Largo, and Pinellas Park High Schools.
The clinics provide services to students attending the five schools during the school year.
View the article as originally published at https://www.tampafp.com/no-cost-summer-clinic-screenings-pinellas-county/