BDANENY ANNOUNCES NEW GRANT The Board of Directors of the Bleeding Disorders Association of Northeast New York have launched a new grant program to fill an unmet need in our community. Called the BDANENY CARES Grant, the aim of the program is to encourage individuals in the bleeding disorder community to maintain a healthy lifestyle that promotes physical and mental health. Physical and mental health are important components of successfully managing a bleeding disorder. Being a well-rounded person promotes better job and school performance, inspires the individual to keep growing, and most importantly helps increase the confidence to gain new skills. Continuing to discover what one can do and learning to challenge your mind and body enable individuals to learn the skills and courage needed to face larger challenges in life. Such learning doesn’t always take place in a classroom. The purpose of this grant is to promote the physical, emotional, social, intellectual and moral/spiritual health of those living with a bleeding disorder. Though the CARES Grant, the BDANENY has established a program to provide financial assistance to wish to pursue a non-academic opportunity that would support their overall wellbeing or personal development. The grant is intended for programs such as tuition for extracurricular activities, specialized equipment for participation in athletic activities or travel expenses related to participation in cultural activities.
Outside of our busy everyday schedules, it’s important that we also take part in purposeful activities that add joy to our lives. Having an outlet separate from work and school has been shown to lower stress, promote better physical health, enhance sleep, provide more social connections, improved scholastic performance and increased happiness. In particular, students who participate in extracurricular activities are more likely to experience better attendance, higher levels of achievement, and aspirations to higher levels of education. BDANENY is proud to encourage such participation by offering the BDANENY CARES Grant. Our first grant recipient… Paige Van Patton reached out to the BDA earlier this year looking for support of her attendance at the National Student Leadership Conference on Forensic Science. This prestigious program selects outstanding high school students from around the world to participate based on academic excellence, extracurricular involvement, and demonstrated leadership potential. At the NSLC, she would have the opportunity to participate in leadership development workshops where attendees develop skills including effective communication, public speaking, and conflict resolution. In addition, attendees participate in lectures and workshops that give them a better understanding of Forensic Science and would prepare them for college. Students attend briefings and participate in forum discussions led by national and world leaders in the field of Forensic Science. The problem? The cost to attend is $4,969, including the program, room and board, course materials, program activities, travel to the conference and money for other incidental expenses. Although Paige is currently employed at our local bakery in order to help pay her way her job has limited hours, and family cannot afford the entire amount. So she reached out to us for assistance. Since her request did not fall within the parameters of any of our traditional support programs, and her request was so compelling, the Board of Directors decided to create a new program that would provide young people such as Paige some level of support to pursue this opportunity for personal development. 2