Tis’ the season to be shopping... Shoppers looking for unique

gi�s for their friends and

family joined us on

Saturday, December 3rd at

the South Jersey Healthcare

Fitness Connec!on for our

first ever Holiday Bazaar.

The Holiday Bazaar, which

the coali!on hopes will be-

come an annual fundraiser,

sought to raise funds that

will enhance the efforts of

the Cumberland County

Healthy Communi!es

Coali!on.

Over 20 vendors donated to

reserve a table space during

the fundraiser. Representa-

!ves from several acclaimed

businesses were joined by

local cra�ers. The one-of-a-

kind shopping

experience provided

INS IDE TH IS

I S SUE :

Chair and Vice

Chair

2

AMCC 2

National Parent

Leadership Month

3

Sun Bank

volunteers

3

A holiday

“mocktail”

3

Millville Senior HS

students project

4

Member spotlight

4

More about us 4

A special thank you to all those who helped make the Holiday Bazaar a success!

C U M B E R L A N D

C O U N T Y

H E A L T H Y

C O M M U N I T I E S

C O A L I T I O N H O S T E D B Y

T H E S O U T H W E S T C O U N C I L , I N C .

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 1 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 3

Jessica Ortuso

Project Director

jessica@southwestcouncil.org

P: 856.794.1011 ext. 302

Chair

Tracey Wells - Huggins

Vice Chair

Melissa Niles

Editor

Brian Kanady

Meetings are held at

The Southwest Council, Inc.

1405 N. Delsea Dr.

Vineland, NJ 08360

Joseph Williams

SWC Executive Director

execdirector@southwestcouncil.org

Reducing substance abuse among youth in Cumberland County

PJ Ragone and SJH Fitness Connec!on, Gene Tuber!ni and The CUMBERLADS, Heather Clark:

Premier Designs Jewelery, Jeff Butler: Arbonne, Nancy Jones: The Joy of Jewelry, Beverly

Hughes: Botanical Illustrator, Brian and Dawn Buglio: Buglio Enterprises, Gina Ammirato:

Gina’s Crea!ons, Gail Guenther: Stampin’ Up & Inkcredible Crea!ons, Whitney Lynn Pickens:

Mary Kay Cosme!cs, Cheri Venturi: Cheri’s Jewelry Box, Ron Lamb: Organo Gold (The Healthy

Coffee), Joan Carfrey: All Occasion Cakes, Debbi Huff: BleuKatzDesigns, Melissa Smith:

Tastefully Simple, Stephanie Upham: Ini!als Inc., Chris!na Stanker: Mum’s Bow!que,

Sarah Smith: Handcra�ed Cards and Gi�s, Julia Jones: Lia Sophia Jewelery,

Stephanie Snyder-Phipps: Scentsy, Marie McClintock: Tupperware, Sarah

Eisner: Miche@yourdailybag.com, Celine Kaelble: The Pampered Chef, Renewed

Minds DCD, Inc., RaBa Inc. “Voiceless” from Shannon Smith and Rob:

Big John’s Pizza Queen. Special thanks to Barbara and Abby Ernst,

Melissa and Gabby Niles, Brian Kanady, Kat Cristaudo and Joe Williams.

community members with

an opportunity to find items

that can’t be found in the

mall or your favorite

department store.

While shoppers were busy

shuffling through hand-

cra�ed cards and jewelry,

the CUMBERLADS, an all-

male a cappella group,

performed a variety of

holiday favorites including

“I’m Dreaming of a White

Christmas.” With the music

came the onset of new

shoppers. Everyone was

eager to find that something

special for someone on their

list or to treat themselves

during a hec!c !me of year.

A�er five hours of shopping

and raffling off over 20

items, with the help of many

volunteers the fundraiser

came to an end around 3:00

p.m. Plans for next year’s

Holiday Bazaar are already

underway!

P A G E 2 New leadership within the coalition

Bottino’s Delsea ShopRite, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Dept. and Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office partner

in latest challenge

Each September members of

the CCHCC reassess key lead-

ership within the coali!on.

Those who’ve stepped up to

the posi!on of chair or vice

chair are given the

opportunity to pass

the torch onto those

who have yet to

have the opportuni-

ty. During our

September 12th

mee!ng, members

of the CCHCC were

given the op!on to step up for

the chair posi!on which is

voted on by those in

aIendance.

The vote for our new chair,

Tracey Wells-Huggins of

Renewed Minds, was unani-

mous. Tracey is an RN by

profession and the founder

and CEO of Renewed Minds.

Renewed Minds started in

October of 2007 and is a

company dedicated to

providing quality suppor!ve

services to those who need it

most.

A few weeks’ later members

of the Steering CommiIee

met eagerly to discuss poten-

!al candidates for the vice

chair posi!on. Juanita Nazario

who has served as our vice

chair in years past suggested

involving one of her employ-

ees at Cumberland County

Alcohol and Drug Abuse

Services First Step Clinic,

Melissa Niles. Melissa

graciously accepted the

opportunity to serve on the

coali!on in a greater capacity.

Melissa currently serves as the

Clinical Supervisor at First

Step and is also an Advocate

for NCADD of New Jersey

Legisla!ve District 1. They

consist of state-wide grass-

roots teams that advocate for

closing the addic!on

treatment gap. They also

advocate for reducing the

s!gma of

addic!on.

New leaders in

the forefront are

also helpful in

keeping the

efforts fresh and

the members

enthusias!c. We’re excited to

have both Tracey and Melissa

represen!ng the coali!on out

in the community. Both

personally and professionally

each of these women reflect

the beliefs of the coali!on’s

cause and we’re lucky to have

them on board!

On November 12, 2011, a historic

and lifesaving event, The

American Medicine Chest

Challenge (AMCC), was held in

Vineland. The AMCC is a public

health ini!a!ve to raise aware-

ness about the dangers of pre-

scrip!on drug abuse and is a part

of a na!onwide day of disposal of

unused, unwanted, and expired

medicine. The challenge was held

in 46 states and resulted in thou-

sands of residents taking the 5-

Step American Medicine Chest

Challenge and disposing over 10

tons of unused, unwanted, and

expired medicine.

The Cumberland County Sheriff’s

Department and Prosecutor’s

Office collected 30 lbs. during the

AMCC, at BoPno’s Delsea

ShopRite.

This ini!a!ve challenged

Cumberland County residents to

take the Five-Step American Medi-

cine Chest Challenge:

1. Take inventory of your

prescrip�on and over-the-counter

medicine.

2. Lock your medicine chest.

3. Dispose of your unused, unwant-

ed, and expired medicine in your

home or at an American Medicine

Chest Challenge Disposal site.

4. Take your medicine(s) exactly as

prescribed.

5. Talk to your children about the

dangers of prescrip�on drug

abuse.

AMCC was created to help families

see their medicine cabinets

through new eyes -- as an access

point for poten!al misuse and

abuse of over-the-counter and

prescrip!on medicine by young

people and to provide an oppor-

If you have Rx drugs to dispose of visit

the Vineland Police

Department.

The Dept. is

equipped

with a

permanent

drop off and

will collect

at any !me!

tunity to properly dispose of un-

used, unwanted, and expired medi-

cine.

AMCC was supported locally by the

CCHCC and also by PhRMA,

American College of Emergency

Physicians, the Partnership at Drug-

Free.org, Generic Pharmaceu!cal

Associa!on, Catalent Pharma Solu-

!ons, and the Consumer

Healthcare Products Associa!on.

The parent organiza!on of AMCC is

the Partnership for a Drug-Free

New Jersey.

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 3

February is National Parent Leadership Month

Ingredients • 1 cup water

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 2-inch piece fresh gin-

ger, peeled and sliced

• 3 pears, chopped into bite

-size pieces, divided

• 2 quarts apple cider

• 1 lemon, halved and sliced

• 1 tablespoon ground all-

spice

• 1 cup fresh cranberries

• 2 tablespoons vanilla

extract

Try Eating Well’s “Sleigh Driver” this holiday season

This scrump�ous

nonalcoholic punch adds

pear, cranberries and

vanilla to the tradi�onal

hot cider.

10 servings, about 1 cup each

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Preparation 1. Combine water, sugar, gin-

ger and 1 pear in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, s!rring occasionally. Strain out the solids and return the mixture to the pan.

2. Add the remaining pears, cider, lemon and allspice and heat over medium-high heat, s!rring o�en, for 15 minutes.

3. Add cranberries and vanilla and reduce the heat to me-dium-low (the liquid should be simmering, not boiling). Let simmer for 10 minutes more. Serve in heat-safe mugs.

Make Ahead Tip: Let cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Reheat on the stovetop over low heat or in the microwave on medium. From Ea!ng Well: November/December 2009

A big thank you to Sun Bank Na!onal volunteers Jackie Williams

On October 13, 2011, three

employees from the Vineland

branch of Sun National Bank

gave up their Columbus Day

afternoon to volunteer for the

Southwest Council with work

including projects for the

CCHCC. Carol Hallman, Sharron

Taylor and Lisa Albert are just

three of the more than 800 Sun

Bank employees who took part

in the second annual “Banking

on our Communi!es Day,” an

effort which highlights Sun's

dedica!on and commitment to

both local communi!es and

loyal customers.

Carol, Sharron, and Lisa each

worked diligently for almost

four hours on a variety of pro-

jects. The women tied laminat-

ed sheets of paper containing

social norms

information about

Cumberland County youth

around CCHCC bracelets that

are handed out to teens

faster than the staff could

provide them with the

necessary materials!

A very special “thank you” to

Sun National Bank for lending

us some of their best!

Parents Anonymous® Inc. is

inviting public and private

partners to join them in

co-sponsoring the National

Parent Leadership Month in

February every year. This

major initiative will include a

series of national, state and

local activities to recognize,

honor and celebrate parents

for their leadership roles in

their homes and communi-

ties.

National Parent Leadership

Month will highlight the many

opportunities available for

parents, professionals, policy-

makers and other community

members to engage in part-

nerships with the goal of

building and supporting

strong, safe families.

Parents Anonymous® Inc. will

work in partnership with pub-

lic and private organizations

such as social services, educa-

tion, juvenile justice, child-

care, mental health, health,

businesses and policymakers

to promote National Parent

Leadership Month in commu-

nities all around the world to:

• Raise public awareness

about the important roles

parents play in shaping the

lives of children and families.

•Publicize and expand oppor-

tunities for Parent Leaders to

participate in meaningful Par-

ent Leadership activities at

the local, state and national

levels.

• Recognize individual Parent

Leaders whose contribu!ons

make a posi!ve difference to

their families and communi-

!es

• Build successful partner-

ships between Parent Leaders

and professionals in sharing

responsibility, exper!se and

leadership in decisions being

made that affect families and

communi!es.

www.parentsanonymous.org

Contact Regina Williams at

Parents Anonymous

Southern to see what’s going

on around here to recognize

National Parent Leadership

Month.

The coalition and our endeavors

would not be possible without the

support of our community

partners. Much of the success of

the CCHCC is owed to Keiko

Warner. Though Keiko has

worked for Millville Public Schools

as a Student Assistance Program

Coordinator since 1991 she has

also spent !me working for

Parkside Medical Services,

Woodbine Development Center

and Fairfield Public Schools. It’s

clear that Keiko is passionate

about working with at-risk youth.

We’ve been lucky enough to have

Keiko as a dedicated member of

the CCHCC and a friend of the

Southwest Council. “I consider

Keiko the go-to-woman for any-

thing involving Millville Public

Schools,” said Jessica Ortuso,

director of the coalition. “She has

been extremely supportive of our

Contact us for more information on the CCHCC, our Youth Division or to sign up for our mailing list!

CCHCC

c/o The Southwest Council, Inc.

1405 N. Delsea Dr.

Vineland, NJ 08360

Phone: 856-794-1011 ext. 302

Fax: 856-794-1239

E-mail: jessica@southwestcouncil.org

facebook.com/CCHealthyCommunitiesCoalition

The Cumberland County Healthy Communities Coalition was formed to build healthy communities by

reducing substance abuse among youth.

The Coalition is a group of concerned community members of all ages and from all walks of life, including

educators, law enforcement, parents, youth, faith leaders, health professionals, media, local government

and businesses.

We need a Healthy Communities Coalition because a group with a common goal can achieve so much more than an individual alone. Our Coalition promotes coordination and partnership between

organizations to create environments that are alcohol, tobacco and drug free. We build links between local

organizations and individuals who are working to accomplish common goals.

The Coalition meets at the Southwest Council’s Cumberland County Resource Center Office in

Vineland. We welcome any interested community members to attend our next meeting on January 9th

at 1:30.

You make it possible, Keiko Warner

The Coalition is a community initiative of The Southwest Council, Inc. Funds are provided by the Office of National Drug Control Policy and managed by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

efforts and has been very

valuable in helping the coalition

to work with the students and

staff in Millville Schools.”

Recently, Keiko has been

instrumental in having 2011

PRIDE surveys implemented at

Lakeside and getting the approval

for allowing CCHCC staff to

provide “Above the Influence”

activities at the High Schools and

during 21st Century’s Summer

Camp. We’re proud to have her

as part of our team and are so

fortunate to

have been

able to

provide

alcohol and

drug

education to

the Millville

students.

Kudos to Millville Senior students for cleaning

Corson Park and Thunderbolt Court at Millville Senior High

School. Your hard work makes a difference in our

community!