May 28, 2024
Callie and Dustin Kellums had twins in 2020, a boy named Luke and a girl named Kate. Born prematurely, both newborns required care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro. After a week, Luke was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, and it quickly became apparent that he needed more […]
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May 28, 2024
Ujima Maternity Network trains birth professionals to address maternal health disparities By Adena White Maternal deaths from pregnancy-related causes continue to rise. From 2018 to 2021, for every 100,000 live births in Arkansas, 44 mothers died from pregnancy-related complications before their baby’s first birthday. Socioeconomic and racial disparities exacerbate this crisis: Black, non-Hispanic mothers are […]
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May 28, 2024
By Jessica Ford Arkansas continues to face troubling challenges as it battles a persistently high infant mortality rate, with recent data painting a grim picture of the state’s struggle to safeguard its babies. The Arkansas Department of Health defines infant mortality as a statistic that looks at the number of babies who die each year […]
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May 28, 2024
New nonprofit seeks to amplify the voices of families across Arkansas By Adena White In early May of 2022, Ashley Bearden Campbell’s pregnancy took a sharp turn. She was admitted to the hospital in anticipation that she would remain on bed rest until her baby’s July 1 due date. Health complications necessitated an emergency cesarean […]
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May 28, 2024
By Kim Dishongh Allyson Cheatham was anxious when she went for prenatal care during her first pregnancy. “I felt very judged,” said Cheatham, recently discharged from the U.S. Army in 2011. Young and newly pregnant, she returned home to Arkansas to be near family. “I felt rushed. I felt not heard. As a result, I […]
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May 22, 2024
By Olivia Walton What a difference a year can make. Last spring, Arkansas reached an inflection point. We decided that our last-place finish in maternal outcomes was no longer acceptable. We decided that our mothers, our children and our families deserve more. Through education and advocacy, there is now a swell of support for improving […]
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May 22, 2024
By Kim Dishongh When a woman is pregnant, there is often no information she values more than the kind that comes from her mother, grandmother, sister and aunts. Those female mentors are not always readily available, however, so the Arkansas Birthing Project works to fill in the gaps. “We work to establish fictive kinship relationships,” […]
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May 3, 2024
Getting a jump on a future “to do” list is such a good feeling. The team at the Community Foundation can help you with your clients’ long-term charitable giving plans by putting in place the structures to receive bequests decades from now. Consider a case where you’re finalizing an estate plan for a client who […]
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May 3, 2024
When your client is getting ready to make a contribution to charity or a fund at the Community Foundation, remind them not to automatically reach for the checkbook! Here are other (and typically more tax-savvy) options to consider. Marketable securities Gifts of appreciated stock is always a tax-savvy ways to give because capital gains tax […]
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April 12, 2024
In the fertile soil of the Arkansas Delta, you’ll find a special group of leaders, volunteers and donors committed to making Craighead County the best it can be. Craighead County Community Foundation was founded in 2001. Since its inception, the group has made $3.1 million in grants and scholarships. Their Giving Tree program continues to […]
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