Newsletters

April/May 2025 Newsletter 

Dina Faticone, chief program officer of Common Ground Health, and Hannah Shippee, program manager of the Indigenous Health Coalition and Healthi Kids Coalition, traveled to Stanford University recently for its RAPID survey project convening.

Surveys will help inform policies and programs to help children thrive

Common Ground Health and ROC the Future Alliance have been selected to participate in a project to learn about the experiences of children and parents to decide how best to support families.

Through the RAPID Survey Project at Stanford University’s Center on Early Childhood, a series of surveys will be conducted over the next year to hear directly from families with, and caregivers of, children ages 0-5. The goal is to use the data to inform policies and programs that help every child thrive from the start.

Different from typical survey processes, a team of Stanford researchers will rapidly analyze the survey responses and share them back with communities within weeks, enabling them to turn the insights into immediate action. Survey questions will include such topics as economic circumstances, well-being, child care, community and family health needs, and families’ experiences with early childhood policies and programs.

The first RAPID survey is available to parents/caregivers with children ages 0-5 in the City of Rochester until Thursday, May 29, 2025. Learn more about the effort. Take the survey.

Don't forget: Next infant toddler play day is set for May 17

Community Schools Coalition representatives to present at national conference

Representatives from the Community Schools Coalition of Monroe County will be presenting at the 2025 National Community Schools & Family Engagement Conference May 28-30 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This national conference brings together people from across the country who believe all children deserve a safe place to live and opportunities to learn and thrive.

The presentation will be delivered by Kelly Sperduto, director of community schools at Greece Central School District, and Dr. Joseph Fantigrossi, regional community schools coordinator at Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES. Mike Bulger, director of whole child health advocacy for Common Ground Health and Healthi Kids, also will attend the conference to bring back ideas for the region.

Healthi Kids is an active participant in the Community Schools Coalition of Monroe County, which is composed of 93 organizations, including K-12 school districts, community-based nonprofits, governmental departments, and institutes of higher education. Learn more about the conference.

Partner spotlight: Community baby shower participants

Ibero-American Action League joined with Molina Healthcare of New York, Jordan Health, and the Healthy Baby Network to host a free, community baby shower on April 17. The event was designed to support families in underserved neighborhoods by connecting expecting mothers with essential resources to promote healthy pregnancies and early childhoods. See video from the event.

Dozier is honored by Teen Empowerment

Jackie Dozier, Common Ground Health's director of Community Health and Wellbeing, will be honored as a Peacemaker in Action at The Center for Teen Empowerment's annual community luncheon Wednesday, May 7, at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center. Learn more.

Mark Your Calendar

Painting Day for Phillis Wheatley’s Story Walk – June 21, 2025. Join artist Chloe Smith as the redesign of the Story Walk takes shape with the painting of this path to play. Phillis Wheatley Library is located at 33 Dr. Samuel McCree Way in Rochester. 

Healthi Kids Coalition meeting – 10:30 a.m. May 21, 2025. Coalition members should RSVP to Hannah Shippee, Program Manager of the Healthi Kids Coalition and the Indigenous Health Coalition, hannah.shippee@commongroundhealth.org.

Healthi Kids' Playful Learning Summit - Save the date of August 20, 2025, for the summit, which explores the transformative power of play in education.