Thriving in a New Program Year

We at Thriving at Three are very happy to announce the beginning of another exciting program year. With the assistance of AmeriCorps ACCESS member, Sarah Dougherty, we are able to launch a set of new outreach projects, while continuing a second year with our Touch of Wellbeing program.

Touch of Wellbeing is a collaborative project began in 2007 in which licensed massage therapist, Kammaleathahh Livingstone, provided infant massage and self-massage classes to a selected group of our clients. The participants were also given one free, hour-long massage a month to help with stress reduction. This year, we are taking the program a step further. Miriam Biber, a Holistic Health Counselor and co-founder of Sustainable Health Choices, will be providing lessons on nutrition and healthy living.

The ten participants are all pregnant or post-partum, and interested in learning about healthy alternatives. We have set up several classes on topics such as self-care, self-massage, infant massage, budget grocery shopping, and sugar alternatives.

In addition to Touch of Wellbeing, we are developing programs that will give all our clients the tools they need to be self-sufficient. Lack of transportation is one of the biggest barriers our clients face. Many Latina immigrant mothers rely on husbands, family members, or friends for transportation. However, this mode of transport is not always reliable, and sometimes that translates to a child missing important health exams, flu shots, or check-ups.

On Thursday, October 23rd, we began the first in a series of self-help classes for our clients. Fifteen Latina mothers showed up downtown at the Greensboro Transit Authority for a lesson on navigating the local busing system. Kevin Elwood, GTA Communications Specialist, explained how the routes and fares work, while we interpreted for our Spanish-speaking mothers.

In the coming months, our series will continue with classes in car seat safety, women’s leadership development, parenting and discipline, as well as a child development class based on United Way’s Born Learning program.

The Center for New North Carolinians' Thriving at Three program is run by Jaimie Foster with special assistance from AmeriCorps ACCESS Project member Sarah Dougherty.
Sustainable Health Choices was co-founded by Kammaleathahh Livingstone and Miriam Biber.