- March 28, 2024
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Grant to save babies
The Department of Health in Orange County has been awarded a $3.5 million dollar grant to reduce high infant mortality rates and other health problems related to pregnancy and mothers’ health in racial and ethnic communities. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Healthy Start grant will be used over the next five years to implement the Bellies, Babies, & Beyond Project in urban centers in Orange County. The target communities are Black non-Hispanic, and Hispanic communities that have the poorest birth outcomes and the greatest need.
Local teen wins Youth of the Year
Eatonville’s Maryah Sullivan has been officially announced as the 2014 National Youth of the Year by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. As the title winner, Maryah will receive a $60,000 college scholarship from Tupperware Brands Corporation and The Rick and Susan Goings Foundation, and will become BGCA’s national teen spokesperson – serving as a role-model, leader and advocate for the nearly 4 million Boys & Girls Club members and all of America’s young people. Maryah traveled to Washington, D.C. to vie for the National Youth of the Year title with five other finalists, and earlier this month she participated in community service, attended an exclusive congressional breakfast and a gala. Read more about Maryah in an Observer story published in July online at http://bit.ly/1x9d5co
New homes to be built in Maitland
M/I Homes recently closed on the purchase of a tract of land near the Maitland Center office park for its newest community, The Enclave at Maitland Boulevard located off Maitland Boulevard on Magnolia Homes Road.
David Byrnes, area president of M/I Homes in the Orlando region, said The Enclave, located only five minutes from the office complex, will offer only 35 home sites for new single-family homes ranging from approximately 1,800 square feet of living area to 5,000 square feet.
Site development should begin in the fourth quarter of this year and the first models will get underway in the second quarter of 2015.
Bank helps employees earn a living wage
First GREEN Bank, a local bank with a global mission, announces that it will implement a Living Wage Program beginning Oct. 1. One of the only businesses in Central Florida to offer a living wage for employees, the new program will provide all full-time and part-time First GREEN Bank employees a minimum $30,000 yearly salary, or the hourly equivalent, without a salary cap. The Living Wage Program is an effort by First GREEN Bank to make sure its employees have the ability to adequately provide for themselves and their families. As one of the first area businesses to implement this type of program, First GREEN Bank will offer team members 50 percent more per hour than the average Central Florida living wage, which according to MIT is currently $10 per hour.