Project on Shaken Baby Syndrome Wins Grant
Four students at Lyman Moore Middle School have been awarded a $1,100 grant to print brochures that they wrote about Shaken Baby Syndrome. YOUTHINK, a youth-driven philanthropy organization based in Portland, will present the check in a ceremony on Friday, February 9 at 2:45 p.m. in the Lyman Moore library.
The Shaken Baby Syndrome project was one of several undertaken by seventh graders in Glenn Nerbak’s social studies class at Moore last year as part of Project Citizen, a civic education unit. Students investigated community issues that were important to them and developed strategies for addressing those issues.
Siena Butterfield, Amanda Masse, Stephanie Rogers and Caitlin Very determined one problem was that not enough people know about Shaken Baby Syndrome - what it is and what terrible effects it can have on babies. Through polls taken at school, they confirmed that few babysitting-age students knew about the syndrome.
They researched the problem, talked with doctors and other experts in the community and decided to make a pamphlet about Shaken Baby Syndrome for distribution to doctors’ offices, hospitals and other places where parents and babysitters could find them.
The YOUTHINK grant will help cover the cost of printing and mailing the pamphlets. The Moore students also are working on having all Red Cross babysitting classes include information about Shaken Baby Syndrome.
Jake Wartell, a YOUTHINK board member who attends Deering High School, said, “I think it’s tremendous that these women are doing this project, not only for its effect on the community, but because it is empowering them to be activists for the rest of their lives.”
The Shaken Baby Syndrome project will be featured on WGME’s “Learning Matters” program on Tuesday, February 20 between 5 and 6 p.m. and Wednesday, February 21 between 5 and 7 a.m.
