Amateur photographers of all ages are invited to enter litter photos to win $500
EDGMONT » In a 2019 Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Questionnaire included in the Pennsylvania Litter Research Survey, the majority of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that litter is an environmental problem, ends up in our waterways, impacts quality of life, poses health and safety risks to people and animals and affects property values.
During the summer months and COVID restrictions, grab people of all ages can grab their cameras and mobile devices and safely take photos of the worst or unusual examples of litter in your Pennsylvania community. To focus attention on the litter problem, the Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC) is continuing its annual Gene Capaldi Lens on Litter Photo Contest, with a deadline of October 31. The theme is “Exposure leads to prevention!”
In the student category, through
12th Grade, three prizes will be awarded with the first-place winner receiving $500, second-place $250 and third-place $100. The same prizes will be awarded in an adult category.
Entries should help bring awareness to how litter threatens public health and safety, scenic beauty, property values, the environment, pets or wildlife. Entries will be judged on six criteria: anti-litter message, originality, photographic technique, quality of photo, originality of title and severity of the litter. Contestants are also encouraged to safely initiate a cleanup of the subject area and provide a photo of the results of your efforts for additional judging points. Entries (limit five per person, no smaller than
4x6 and no larger than 8x10) should be sent to PRC Gene Capaldi Lens on Litter Contest, 1671 North Providence Road, Media, PA 19063. High resolution digital submissions may be sent to lensonlitter@prc.org.
All entries, including digital, must include the entrant’s name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, title given to photo, location of litter site and how the photographer learned about the contest. Students should also include age, grade and name of school. Photos submitted without all the above will not be judged. All photos may be used by PRC at their discretion.
Questions may be directed to lensonlitter@prc.org and additional information, as well as previous winners, can be found at prc.org/lens-litter/ .
Individuals, groups or organizations that would be interested in helping to sponsor this program, contact lensonlitter@prc.org/. Program sponsors currently include Carolyn Capaldi and Robert and Mary Capaldi.
COSA sponsors online Diabetes SelfManagement program
The County of Delaware Services for the Aging (COSA) is sponsoring the nationally recognized Diabetes Self-Management Program for those 60 and older who either have Diabetes or care for someone with Diabetes. The program will be held online, Wednesdays from 9:30 a.m.noon, beginning July 22 and will run through August 26.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s recently released 2017 National Diabetes Statistics Report identifies Diabetes among U.S. adults age 65 and over as high as 25.2% or approximately one in four seniors having Diabetes. The World Health Organization notes that people with Diabetes can live long, healthy lives when their Diabetes is detected and well-managed.
This proven evidence-based program was developed at Stanford University and is used internationally to help and empower those who have Diabetes live healthier, feel better, and enjoy life. The American Diabetes Association identifies this program as meeting the Diabetes Support Initiative criteria for support programming. Program costs are covered by COSA so the program is free, however class size is limited. Registration is mandatory.
To register, contact Ellen Williams at williamse@co.delaware.pa.us or by calling 610-499-1937.
Student-designed mental health campaign wins international award
Widener University’s Breathe Campaign, a mental health initiative created by two students and their faculty advisor as part of a summer research project last year, has won a Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Circle of Excellence bronze award for communications.
The prestigious award recognizes senior Christiana Dunn and 2020 graduate Michaela Kolenkiewicz, along with their faculty advisor Dr. Angie Corbo, for creating a valuable mental health resources tool on the university’s my Widener intranet portal and then raising awareness about it on campus and beyond.
Dunn is from Garnet Valley and attended Garnet Valley High School. Kolenkiewicz is from Jenkintown and attended Jenkintown High School.
“To know that the Breathe Campaign will remain for students to keep using to find resources gives me peace of mind,” said Kolenkiewicz, a 2020 graduate who majored in psychology with a dual minor in French and sociology. “I am extremely proud of the hard work everyone put into making Breathe possible. It can now help students for years to come.”
The Circle of Excellence Awards are one of the most prestigious recognitions in higher education communications and marketing. In 2020, CASE received more than
2,750 entries for consideration in
100 categories by 587 institutions from 28 countries.
The judges praised Widener’s student-driven initiative for its simplicity.
“This could easily become a national model for other institutions,” the judges wrote. “We love the creation of a digital tool to grant easy access to those who are vulnerable and those who want to assist them. This is an elegant solution to a problem all college campuses face.”
Dunn, a senior communication studies major with a concentration in public relations and advertising, said the goal was always for the Breathe Campaign to become a model for other universities.
“It is amazing seeing our summer research project become a successful campus resource that could potentially save a person’s life,” Dunn said.
Last summer, Dunn and Kolenkiewicz began Widener’s Summer Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (SURCA) program with separate ideas for researching topics related to mental health. They came together to work on a single research theme focused around facilitating difficult conversations about mental health on college campuses, and providing tools for people who, in the midst of those conversations, need guidance on where to turn to help troubled individuals.
They collaborated with Vice President for Library and Information Services/CIO Eric Behrens and Director of Systems Administration Chris Smith, as well as the university’s counseling center, to create a resource tool available through the university’s intranet portal, in which people could enter a key word that would bring up a list of linked mental health resources at the university and beyond.
Through it, a person who is struggling can type “Breathe” into the portal and find immediate help. Likewise, friends, faculty and staff who know someone who is struggling can use it to locate help when they want to lend a hand but don’t know how.
Then, they launched a public awareness campaign with the help of a communications class, which also provided design assistance for campaign materials. The campaign included three events and campus signage posted before final exams alerting everyone at the university to this new resource.
The campaign and digital tool remain ongoing, valued resources at the university. The program continues to be promoted through the myWidener portal, especially at high-stress times of year, like mid-term and final exams.