Monthly Newsletter

April 2022 Edition

The Pittsburgh Business Times has published a preview list of its Women of Influence for 2022. Macedonia FACE’s own Trisha M. Gadson, PhD, Chief Executive Officer is among the awardees this year! The Times will celebrate the Women of Influence at a Gala Event on May 25, 2022. Look for pictures and event details in next month’s newsletter. Congratulations Dr. Gadson for this well-deserved honor.

Macedonia FACE and its partners in the Hill District Early Literacy Initiative conducted a survey of area parents to ask them about their daily activities of reading with their children. The results of the survey indicate that the biggest barrier for parents and reading with their children is TIME. Families are busy trying to make ends meet, managing complicated schedules and challenged by every day demands. FACE is working to find ways to support families and children to find more time for reading.

Helping children learn to read is a winning investment. Adults who spend 20 minutes / day in some activity with children and reading contribute to their reading success! Perhaps you have some time to give a busy family? Here are some reading activities you can do with children:

1. Have a child read aloud to you from their favorite book
2. Read a book to a child
3. Practice naming letters and thinking of words that begin with a specific letter
4. Read signs out loud when traveling in a car or bus
5. Draw in coloring books with words next to pictures
6. Play a spelling bee game
7. Take a child to the library 
8. Give a child a book with people that look like them or about something they like
9. Make up a story together 
10. Choose a “word for the day”
11. Attend HDELI Storytime event!

Monthly Storytime continues this month on Friday April 29^th at 5:00pm at the Hill District CEC featuring guest Storyteller, Dr. Margaret J. Starkes reading her own book, Jazzi’s Journey!!

Storytime is a reading promotion activity of the Hill District Early Literacy Coalition, led by Macedonia FACE. The Coalition seeks to increase the reading proficiency of children from PreK to 3^rd Grade and is funded by a generous grant from the McAuley Foundation. If you are interested in becoming involved in this important effort, contact DaMarra Underwood at dunderwood@macedoniaface.org.

Macedonia FACE has contracted Dr. Keshona Beasley to consult with the agency to improve our capacity to support the emotional needs and mental health challenges facing the families we serve. Dr. Beasley is working with our staff to address stigma surrounding mental health and the barriers to mental wellbeing. She will be conducting a series of “lunch and learn” training sessions and will help the FACE team to develop strategies to assure that individuals who are struggling get the support they need. 

Keshona T. Beasley, PhD is a Pittsburgh native and an experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in both the corporate and non-profit sectors. Dr. Beasley is the CEO of REWIND Behavior and Simulation Center LLC that offers person-centered outpatient mental health services and behavior supports as an approved provider throughout Allegheny County. She is a Board-Certified National Counselor with NBCC and holds a License as a Professional Counselor with the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors. Dr. Beasley is also the first African American female in Allegheny County to be licensed by the Pennsylvania Board of Medicine as a Licensed Behavior Specialist. She is also certified through Allegheny Health Network as a Certified Trauma Therapist. 

In addition to her secular contributions, Dr. Beasley has over 25 years as a servant leader in ministry and is currently the Pastor of Children’s Ministry at Macedonia Church of Pittsburgh. She is also a wife of 24 years to Alexander Beasley Sr. and the mother of two children, Kairos and Keyel Beasley.

Highmark walk for a Healthy Community will be held at Heinz Field - Gate A on Saturday, May 7, 2022. Support Macedonia FACE by walking or donating: http://hcf.convio.net/FACE

COVID-19 has had a disproportionate effect on African Americans. According to the National Institute of Health, African Americans are experiencing COVID-19 death tolls exceeding 1 in 800 nationally compared to white Americans who are experiencing a death toll of 1 in 3125. African Americans are 10% more likely to get coronavirus and 3 times more likely to be hospitalized. Complicating this disparity in infection rates is the fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control, African American individuals represented only 8% of those having received at least one dose of the vaccine. 

Macedonia FACE is participating in the African American Strategic Partnership COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy project. These efforts are designed to ensure that community members have access to vaccines and boosters as well as prevention materials such as masks and sanitizers. Because of the wide array of misinformation that has been given out, this project seeks to provide accurate information and answers to vaccine related questions so that individuals can make informed decisions regarding their health and the health of their family members. 

Here is a link to 12 facts regarding COVID-19 vaccines written by Sherita Golden, M.D., M.H.S., Chief 

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