In celebration of our 20th anniversary as a center at Carolina, CCPS began offering Service Partnership Mini-Grants. These grants, ranging from $150 to $300, fund project- or event-based collaborations between Carolina students and community partners. Read on to learn more about just a few of our 2019 mini-grant recipients:
Southeast Raleigh Youth Leadership Development + Advancing Youth Participation in Research
Graduate students Kate LeMasters and Caroline Chandler, in partnership with UNC Center for Aids Research and Southeast Raleigh Promise, received two Service Partnership Mini-Grants. Both grants focused on advancing youth participation in research projects.
LeMaster’s project seeks to understand barriers and facilitators in the use of PrEP among adolescents in Durham, while Chandler’s project seeks to understand barriers and preferences for mental health support among youth in Southeast Raleigh. With the Service Partnership Mini-Grant funding, LeMasters and Chandler were able to attend and present at the American Public Health Association Conference in Philadelphia, along with three youth participants.
“Youth frequently tell us that engagement needs to be fun and experiential. Getting to travel with three youth partners to APHA allowed us to forge a stronger partnership and reinvigorated our passion for this work,” LeMasters and Chandler wrote after the conference. “This travel strengthened our partnership and gave the youth an opportunity to network with public health professionals, present to a nationwide audience and learn new leadership skills.”
GlobeMed Sexual Health Art Show
Through their leadership positions with UNC GlobeMed, undergraduates Cassidy Kershner and Laasya Velamakanni partnered with the Orange County Rape Crisis Center to host an art show that addressed stigmas surrounding sexual health. Kershner and Velamakanni used the Service Partnership Mini-Grant to cover all costs of the event, enabling them to donate 100 percent of profits to their chapter’s global partner.
“Through this event, GlobeMed was able to present personal and unique perspectives, challenging preset notions and providing a platform for students and community members to speak up,” Kershner and Velamakanni wrote after the event. “The mini-grant allowed this event to be a huge success.”