June 5, 2012
The Steven A. Hunter Appalachian Legacy Project Grant was awarded to two SSU projects, the Dr. Miller and Genevieve Toombs Children's Learning Center "Inside Out – Outside In" project, and the Department of Nursing's Frontier Project.
When Mark and Virgie Hunter established the Steven A. Hunter Appalachian Legacy Project in honor and memory of their son, Steven (1984-2006), they wanted to create opportunities for students at Shawnee State University to do things that he loved.
The Steven A. Hunter Appalachian Legacy Project supports several project areas including student field trips throughout Appalachia, Appalachian film and recording projects, Appalachian music projects, lecture series on Appalachia and other special Appalachian projects.
"Inside Out – Outside In" a basic movement, music and creative expression program for early childhood at the Dr. Miller and Genevieve Toombs Children's Learning Center at SSU received funding to continue the project. The project is designed to revive children's excitement and curiosity about the outdoor environment and to take the inside learning out and bring the outside learning inside.
This year the funds will help support a bird project at CLC as well as field trips to Shawnee State Forest and the Ohio River, among others. Amanda Hedrick, teacher, and student Amber Arnold, early childhood major, have presented a session titled "Inside Out, Outside In" at SSU's Fabulous Friday Early Childhood Conference and at the Ohio Environmental Education Conference held at Shawnee Lodge highlighting the work funded by this project.
The Department of Nursing's Frontier project is Appalachian cultural immersion of nursing students to take a field trip to the Frontier Nursing Service located in Leslie County, Ky., to learn about cultural assessments through personal interviews, the environmental impact on health care delivery, and to develop an appreciation for the Appalachian culture and its associated healthcare. The nurses presented their findings at the Celebration of Scholarship.
Student nurses participating in the program were Nancy Sullivan, Maria Thompson, RN; Jeanie (Melva) Gordon, RN; Carolyn Massie, LPN; Janet Reffett, RN and Bindyaben Patel, RN. They were accompanied by instructor Gayle Massie and Cheryl Clevenger, RN, MSN.
The funds of this grant are administered by the SSU Development Foundation. Individuals or organizations interested in establishing a fund can call the SSU Development Foundation at (740) 351-3284.