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Name: Liz Fields
How did I get involved in IMPACT?
  • I got involved with IMPACT after my freshman roommate and several of my friends had gone on trips and then went on to become Site Leaders themselves! Their passion and high praise of IMPACT struck a chord with me, so I applied and was a participant on the Memphis trip for HIV/AIDS Advocacy and Awareness trip last Spring Break. 
Why am I interested in my trip focus? 
  • I am interested in Community Health and Well Being because of the current climate we’re all forced to live in right now. I feel that it’s important to educate ourselves on how to live and treat the communities and citizens we live in with respect, especially as people who call Athens our home away from home. I think it’s important to foster interest and compassion about a space that you have the ability to grow and enhance, which we all do over the course of our time at UGA. Athens, and the communities of our futures, deserve to be loved and treasured along with all the people within it. 
Favorite IMPACT memory?​
  • One of my favorite IMPACT memories is of the gigantic Bass Pro Shop in Memphis, TN. The Bass Pro Shop there is in a glass pyramid, yes shaped just like the ones in Egypt. Between service sites, we even found time to go wander around and see the artificial swamp inside! Seeing that huge building and being able to drive in and out of Memphis each day, crossing the Mississippi River and seeing the city skyline, was a scenery I could never get tired of. 
Contact info
she/her/hers
3rd year Management Information Systems major
eaf07836@uga.edu
770-598-9902
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Contact Info: 
she/her/hers
4th year Sociology major
agh93901@uga.edu
706-255-5325
Name: Grace Hicks
How did I get involved in IMPACT?
  • ​I got involved with IMPACT my freshman year by taking the Leadership in Action course, a service learning class that I could engage in co-curricularly with my IMPACT trip! I had the best time learning about Food Justice in Durham, and my site-leaders encouraged me to apply for site-leader. I had the honor and privilege of leading the Education Access & Advocacy Trip last spring break, and had an amazing time with my Co and participants despite having to leave early because of COVID-19! Leading the trip in Charlotte reaffirmed my love for peer mentorship and passion for social justice, so I’m back again to co-facilitate a roundtable with Liz!!!
Why am I interested in my trip focus?
  • I was particularly interested in this topic given the public health crisis we’re experiencing with COVID-19. I came in with a lot of questions about how COVID-19 affects communities and their efforts to be healthy. Our nation’s response to the pandemic governmentally and socially has really made me think about individualism versus collectivism, and I’ve been trying to learn more about how I can help and serve. I’ve also done some research into Food Justice and seeing how these two issues overlap and intersect has been really interesting to me. 
Favorite memory from an IMPACT trip?
  • Two words. Rap Battle
  • Giant jenga
  • Shoveling compost to Kacey Musgraves :-)
  • The Belmont Boys & Girls Club
  • Don’t burn tater tots at your housing site… it’s a bad idea
  • Playing a million different games in Charlotte to kill time​

ABOUT COMMUNITY HEALTH AND WELLBEING

  • ​Community Health and Well-being is the combination of economic, environmental, cultural, and political conditions identified by individuals and their communities as essential for them to flourish and fulfill their potential.”
  • Health is defined by the WHO as “the complete state of physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being and not merely the absence  of disease of infirmity.”
  • Community Health and Well-being encompasses many facets of living, and how the individuals within a community have a direct impact on the future and long term effects of the health and prosperity of that community.
TERMS TO KNOW:
  • Connectedness: the fostering of connection and relationships through a community’s social networks; connectedness enhances social trust, fosters civic engagement, and empowers members to participate in community development.
  • Livability: supporting a livable community through the development of transportation, housing, education, public safety, human services, and other aspects of local infrastructure.
  • Equity: An equitable community is supported by values of diversity, social justice, and individual empowerment, where: basic needs are met, equal opportunities for education and upward mobility are provided, and all members are treated with fairness and justice.


MORE ABOUT COMMUNITY HEALTH AND WELLBEING
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GENERAL ARTICLES:​
Summarized findings of Piedmont Healthcare’s Community Health Needs Assessment in the state of Georgia:
https://www.piedmont.org/about-piedmont-healthcare/community-benefit/community-health-needs-assessments
Details on Augusta University and the University of Georgia's partnership to improve community engagement:
ttps://medicalpartnership.usg.edu/about/community-engagement/

VIDEOS:
Dr. Candace Nykiforuk from Alberta University discussing how your environment affects overall health:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1k6TBpEPB4
A video explaining the 8 Dimensions of Wellness, pieces that make up an individual’s wellness as well as shape their environment, and in turn, their community:
​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDzQdRvLAfM
How local governments can invest and improve their communities to better the overall health of the community and people in it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1MZn2jG1eM
IMAGE SOURCES:​
"It Takes A Community" Graphic:
http://www.chathampublichealth.com/national-health-education-week/we-aint-getting-any-healthier-but-we-can-be/
"Community Engagement" Graphic:
https://buildhealthyplaces.org/whats-new/how-can-hias-chnas-be-tools-for-community-development/chnahnahowto/

INTERSECTIONAL ARTICLES:​
Community Health & Race:
https://www.popsci.com/story/health/racism-public-health/
Community Health & Gender Inequality:
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_address_gender_inequality_in_health_care
Community Health & the LGBT community:
https://www.cigna.com/individuals-families/health-wellness/lgbt-disparities  
Community Health & Ableism:
http://blackyouthproject.com/medical-ableism-is-a-cultural-and-institutional-issue-not-an-individual-problem/

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