The Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Safe Sleep Mini-grant Program officially launch on Father’s Day and Kappa and Silhouette chapters around the country. More than 90 Kappa and Silhouette chapters applied.
As part of Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), continued partnership with Kappa, with the support of the Global Infant Safe Sleep (GISS) Center team, the mini-grants will enable Kappa members to lead and host activities in their communities, where they can share safe infant sleep messages in culturally sensitive ways. This partnership, established in 2015, focuses on fathers and the unique role they can play in reducing the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related causes of infant death, such as suffocation.
Following a competitive process, NICHD/Kappa awarded 55 mini-grants across the United States to undergraduate and alumni chapters of Kappa Alpha Psi and to members of the Silhouettes, the wives and widows of Kappa members. Grantees receive up to $1,000 to conduct safe infant sleep educational activities, with a focus on efforts in states with the highest SIDS rates—this focus is a key component of the ongoing partnership.
“Fathers, uncles, brothers, sons — men in our communities can really make a difference in reversing these trends,” said Thomas L. Battles, Jr., Kappa Alpha Psi Grand Polemarch. “We have educated thousands of Kappa brothers and families about saving babies’ lives. These mini-grants will allow our brothers to go into their communities to share these important messages with others nationwide.”
The Kappa and Silhouette activities will continue throughout the summer. Here’s a list of the 55 mini-grant recipients:
Silhouette Affiliations
The Columbia (SC) Alumni Chapter Silhouettes
The Bowie/Mitchellville (MD) Alumni Chapter Silhouettes
The Decatur (GA) Alumni Chapter Silhouettes
The Houston (TX) Alumni Chapter Silhouettes
The Norristown (PA) Alumni Chapter Silhouettes
The Greenville (SC) Alumni Chapter Silhouettes
The Huntsville (AL) Alumni Chapter Silhouettes
The Indianapolis (IN) Alumni Chapter Silhouettes
The Mobile (AL) Alumni Chapter Silhouettes
The Augusta (GA) Alumni Chapter Silhouettes
The Toledo (OH) Alumni Chapter Silhouettes
The Denver (CO) Alumni Chapter Silhouettes
Then New Orleans (LA) Alumni Chapter Silhouettes
Undergraduate Chapters
The University of Florida Chapter the Zeta Ph of Kappa Alpha Psi
The Jacksonville University Chapter the Eta Mu of Kappa Alpha Psi
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Chapter the Gamma Sigma of Kappa Alpha Psi
The Indiana University Chapter the Alpha of Kappa Alpha Psi
The Wright State University Chapter the Xi Tau of Kappa Alpha Psi
The Georgia Institute of Technology Chapter the Lambda Delta of Kappa Alpha Psi
The Bowling Green University Chapter the Beta Xi of Kappa Alpha Psi
The West Virginia University Chapter the Epsilon Chi of Kappa Alpha Psi
The Marshall University Chapter the Epsilon Delta of Kappa Alpha Psi
The Kent State University Chapter the Gamma Tau of Kappa Alpha Psi
Alumni Chapters
The Camden-Magnolia (AR) Alumni Chapter (SW)
The Gary (IN) Alumni Chapter (NC)
The Maywood Wheaton (IL) Alumni Chapter (NC)
The Thomasville (GA) Alumni Chapter (SE)
The Atlanta (GA) Alumni Chapter (SE)
The Tampa (FL) Alumni Chapter (S)
The Pine Bluff (AR) Alumni Chapter (SW)
The Tallahassee (FL) Alumni Chapter (S)
The Fort Myers (FL) Alumni Chapter (S)
The St. Louis (MO) Alumni Chapter (MW)
The Clarksdale (MS) Alumni Chapter (SW)
The Grambling (LA) Alumni Chapter (SW)
The Lawton Fort Sil (OK) Alumni Chapter (MW)
The Jonesboro (AR) Alumni Chapter (SW)
The Meridian (MS) Alumni Chapter (SW)
The Prairie View (TX) Alumni Chapter (SW)
The Nashville (TN) Alumni Chapter (SC)
The New Orleans (LA) Alumni Chapter (SW)
The Newnan-Fairburn (GA) Alumni Chapter (SE)
The Jacksonville (FL) Alumni Chapter (S)
The Birmingham (AL) Alumni Chapter (S)
The Ft. Lauderdale (FL) Alumni Chapter (S)
The Carrolton-Douglasville (GA) Alumni Chapter (SE)
The Talladega (AL) Alumni Chapter (S)
The Wichita (KS) Alumni Chapter (MW)
The Kansas City (KS) Alumni Chapter (MW)
The Saginaw (MI) Alumni Chapter (N)
The Cleveland (OH) Alumni Chapter (EC)
The Youngstown (OH) Alumni Chapter (EC)
The Omaha (NE) Alumni Chapter (MW)
The New Rochelle-White Plains (NY) Alumni Chapter (NE)
Province
The North Central Province of Kappa Alpha Psi (IA, IL, IN, WI, MN)
SIDS is the sudden, unexplained death of a baby younger than 1 year of age that doesn’t have a known cause even after a full investigation. It is the leading cause of death in babies one month to one year of age. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 3,500 infants in the United States die each year from sleep-related causes, including SIDS. African American babies are twice as likely as white babies and more than three times as likely as Hispanic infants to die from SIDS.
For more information regarding partnerships for educational events with Kappa and Silhouette chapters around the country, please contact Stacy Scott, PhD, MPA, Global Infant Safe Sleep Center, at 731.616.5098.
To learn more about the Safe to Sleep® campaign and ways to reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related causes of infant death, visit http://safetosleep.nichd.nih.gov.