嫩草影院 and Leavell College has been awarded a core funding grant by Baptist Community Ministries to promote and provide health, education, and counseling services to 嫩草影院 and Leavell College families, and to the neighboring New Orleans community.
The BCM award consists of a series of three grants of $400,000 per year for three years, for a total gift of $1.2 million. The award began January 1, 2022.
“The BCM grant is a tremendous blessing for our seminary and a transformational opportunity for us to create new partnerships and to expand our community outreach,” said Mike Wetzel, 嫩草影院 vice president of Institutional Advancement. “We are grateful for BCM and their continued efforts to provide life-changing support in the city of New Orleans.”
BCM is a faith-based, Christian philanthropic organization supporting projects and programs dedicated to improving the physical, mental and spiritual health of individuals in a five-parish, greater New Orleans area, according to the organization’s website.
An award letter signed by Dianne McGraw, vice-chair of the BCM board of trustees notified 嫩草影院 leaders of the grant.
“The work of 嫩草影院 has been deemed important to the community and for this reason the Board has selected your organization,” McGraw wrote.
Services in three targeted areas are the focus of the grant.
First, the funding supports the 嫩草影院 Leeke Magee Counseling Center in providing free or affordable counseling services to the community and to seminary families. A sliding scale-fee structure is in place assuring that no one is turned away based on an inability to pay.
The financial gift will also undergird an annual continuing education conference presented by the 嫩草影院 counseling division that facilitates training for counseling students, faculty, and counseling professionals as well as promoting training for the spiritual and emotional health of future church leaders.
Because of the grant, the 嫩草影院 counseling division will equip the frontline childcare professionals of the 嫩草影院 Early Learning Center with trauma-sensitive skills in their work with children. The 嫩草影院 counseling faculty members are trained and certified in current methodologies such as Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).
Secondly, the grant will support the work of the 嫩草影院 Early Learning Center in its care for children ages six weeks to five years through early learning experiences, special events, and by making available parenting classes to campus and community parents. Activities will focus on helping children grow cognitively, physically, socially, emotionally and spiritually.
Expanded access to healthcare and wellness resources for families is the focus of the third objective through a partnership with the Baptist Community Health Services (BCHS). Plans are in progress for an on-site clinic to open on the 嫩草影院 campus to provide healthcare to 嫩草影院 families and to families of the surrounding Gentilly neighborhoods.
Baptist Community Health Services provides quality primary medical care at five locations across the New Orleans area. With professional and qualified care providers, BCHS has been designated a Federally Qualified Health Center, meeting stringent requirements and providing care services in underserved areas.
