WAMU 88.5's Community Minute...
is a community service, designed to help the station better engage with our listeners and the local organizations that help improve the quality of their lives.
The daily broadcast, featuring WAMU 88.5 General Manager Caryn Mathes and News Director Jim Asendio, provides information about community organizations working to improve lives in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. During each month, Caryn and Jim will feature two topics on-air, and provide local resources for learning more. Online, we'll give more information about both the topics and the groups we mention on-air. Check back often to find out about the organizations working hard to help our community!
Many area children don't have the opportunity to be involved in sports or other physical activity. There are serious health risks for children who don't exercise, but the cost of organized sports is often prohibitive. Fields of Dreams tries to combat this trend, as well as improve the self esteem, academics, and life skills of local youth.
Asthma affects more than 22 million Americans, more than six and a half million of whom are children. The disease occurs when the linings of lung airways become enflamed and swollen. The cause is unknown and there is no cure. However, poor air quality, second hand smoke, and genetics all can contribute to a child developing asthma. While it is generally very treatable, 4,000 people annually die as a result of asthma.
The time spent in middle school does much to determine a child’s future. Students who are not involved and do not participate in organized out-of-school activities are far more likely to become "at risk" in high school.
One out of every 150 children suffers from the fastest growing developmental disability in the country: autism. This disorder affects more children than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined, and leads to difficulties throughout their lives. 90% of the costs associated with autism are in adult services, though the costs of autism can be decreased by as much as two thirds with early diagnosis and education.
One of the goals of the American justice system is to rehabilitate prisoners and prepare them for a life outside of jail. However, many formerly incarcerated women have a very difficult time re-entering society.
Music education in schools is an often overlooked, but important, part of a child’s enrichment.
In recent years. there has been renewed focus on planting trees in an attempt to build a more robust tree canopy. However, it is equally important to the environmental health of the region to nurture and maintain the health of existing large and mature trees.
As seniors age, they face more and more challenges doing every day activities. Many find themselves either physically or fiscally unable to maintain their homes or install important safety features necessary for their survival.
More than half of eighth graders in the District scored below the basic reading level in the last two years. Child literacy problems are more than twice as acute among low-income students, and nearly 15% of all children living in poverty in Washington, D.C. come from the Congress Heights neighborhood in Ward 8.
The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is a federal program created to address the growing number of children in the U.S. who do not have health insurance. The program is designed for families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, yet cannot afford private health insurance. When it was created in 1997, the program was the largest expansion of health insurance coverage for children since Medicaid. It is jointly financed by the federal and state governments and each state is given flexibility to administer the program under broad federal guidelines.
From health care to voting representation and education reform to housing, deep-rooted societal problems can prevent people from leading productive lives. DC Appleseed is a nonprofit organization dedicated to solving important public policy problems facing the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
