Kenneth Cole Fellowship Program in Community Building and Social Change

2002 Community Projects

East Lake Health Initiative

In the Villages of East Lake, a beautiful mixed income development that replaced the East Lake Meadows public housing project, assets abound for families working to achieve economic self-sufficiency. Given the profound effect of health on quality of life, the community wanted to work more specifically on improving the physical and emotional well being of Villages residents. The Kenneth Cole Fellows

• Developed 35-question survey about fitness, nutrition, access to health care, affordability of health care, awareness of pro-health resources, and safety, then met one-on-one with residents to complete 100 surveys;
  
• Conducted two focus groups to further explore themes from the surveys; and
  
• Analyzed results then reported findings and recommended next steps the community could take to improve citizen health, which was delivered to the east Lake Community Foundation's board of directors and other community stakeholders, who committed to collaborating with each other and with Emory to advance community-based action.

Kenneth Cole Fellows:

Joel Boggan (Senior), Jasper, GA. Biology
Kaitlyn Beisecker (Senior), Blacksburg, VA. Biological Anthropology & Human Evolution
Karla Caraballo (Junior), Washington, DC. Sociology
Jennifer Smith (Senior), Newark, DE. History

Graduate Fellow:

Virgil Murray, Rollins School of Public Health, Public Health

Community Partner Supervisors:

Carol Naughton, Executive Director, East Lake Community Foundation
Janie Stratigos, Program Director, East Lake Community Foundation