MONDAY MEMO #37

Resilient Georgia
Jul 7
5 min read

Happy Monday, partners! Welcome to another edition of the Monday Memo. It’s hard to believe we are already halfway through 2025! This week, we’re sharing a wide array of resources across child development, education, healthcare, and community engagement. From practical toolkits and policy briefs to professional development and funding opportunities, there’s something for everyone. Before we dive in, here are some reminders and highlights from the RG Team:

RG UPDATES

Regional Coalition Events Reminder: Thanks to everyone who has continued to submit their scheduled coalition events for 2025! This calendar is housed on the RG website and is a great way to showcase upcoming trainings, summits, and partner activities across the state. As a reminder, please submit your coalition events here. We appreciate your support in keeping this webpage up-to-date!
July is BIPOC Mental Health Month! Mental Health America recognizes July as National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, in honor of the late advocate Bebe Moore Campbell. Their newly released 2025 BIPOC Mental Health Toolkit empowers both individuals and community groups with practical, culturally grounded resources across three pillars: self-care, community care, and advocacy.. The toolkit, available in English and Spanish along with shareable graphics and printables, is designed to turn awareness into concrete action to support mental wellness in communities of color. As part of this month’s offerings, they are also hosting a virtual Chair Yoga session —a healing space that blends gentle movement, breathwork, and affirmations from BIPOC mental health leaders to help you reconnect with your body, spirit, and strength. Register for Chair Yoga here! Additionally, Free Your Feels has also released a BIPOC Resource Toolkit which you can access here.
GA Athletes Lead Mental Health in Sports Movement | Ad Council: The Love, Your Mind campaign, a partnership between the Ad Council and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation , has launched a Georgia-specific mental health initiative featuring local athletes from major sports organizations. Through powerful videos and PSAs, athletes share how they care for their mental well-being, helping normalize mental health conversations across the state. The campaign directs Georgians to free, localized support resources. For more information on the initiative, check out this press release here!

Upcoming July Dates:

This month’s Round calls will be Coalition Connections as follows:
- Rounds 1,2,5: Tuesday July 29th at 11am
- Rounds 3,4: Tuesday July 29th at 2pm

Please note: Lunch and Learns and Peer to Peer Network calls will resume in August!

Coalition Highlights

Each month, Resilient Coastal Georgia hosts Savannah Solutions, a monthly collaborative meeting for Chatham County social service providers to come together in a supportive environment to problem-solve and find solutions for individuals, children, and families. Hosted at The Front Porch, meetings take place every 4th Wednesday from 10AM-12PM. Providers share challenges, exchange community resources, and build creative partnerships to maximize impact. To learn more or receive calendar reminders, contact Tara Jones at tara@coastalgaindicators.org.

Introducing Our 18th Coalition: Resilient West Central! We’re excited to announce the launch of our 18th regional coalition serving Butts, Henry, Fayette, Lamar, Pike, Rockdale, Spalding, and Upson counties. Resilient West Central is co-led by Bloom, Fayette Factor Family Connection, and Pike County Family Connection, bringing together strong community leadership to advance trauma-informed practices, support mental and behavioral health, and build lasting resilience across the region. We look forward to the powerful collaboration and positive change ahead! Stay tuned for updates from our newest Round 5 coalition!

Child Development

Explore a series of resources from Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child and Frame Works surrounding the impact of environment and racism on childhood development.

Watch a webinar hosted by a panel of experts on how racism impacts children’s development and how it contributes to unequal access to opportunity in the places where children live, grow, play, and learn.
Read a report examining how built and natural environments and systemic factors of policies and systemic racism play into shaping exposure to risk and access to opportunity. Find the full report here.
Navigate a toolkit created to help communicators to apply recommendations communicating how structural racism shapes the environments of young children and childhood development. Navigate to the toolkit here and learn how to be equipped with effective communication methods on this topic.
Read Frame Works full brief on effective strategies for talking about the connections between place, racism, and early childhood development and recommendations for advancing this strategy in personalized work.

Education

The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education’s Ten-Minute Top Ten podcast released 2 new episodes. In Episode 12, Matt speaks with student engagement expert Emily Rubin about how fostering social and emotional connections can enhance student engagement. Episode 13 features Joy Schofield from Hall County Schools, who discusses the district’s use of Dialectical Skills Groups (DSG) to help students regulate emotions, build mindfulness, and strengthen relationships. Originally introduced as a behavioral intervention, the DSG approach has since expanded to benefit educators and families, improving overall school climate and community engagement. Additionally, GPEE’s 2025 Top Ten Issues to Watch report was also recently published. This resource highlights Georgia’s education and workforce challenges, with data-driven insights and recommendations for building a stronger, more equitable future. Read the full report here.

Funding

The Building Opportunities in Out-of-School Time (BOOST) grants program offers one-year grants to community-based organizations that operate comprehensive out-of-school time (OST) programming year-round, during the summer months, or after school during the academic year. The BOOST program’s goal is to provide evidence-based afterschool and summer enrichment programming that supports students in learning essential skills and concepts while addressing non-academic barriers to learning through a whole child’s approach. Applications are due August 1, 2025 at 5 PM and folks are invited to join the Information Session on Friday, July 11 at 10am. Learn more information about eligibility and apply here!

Healthcare

Kid Pro Quo is a Georgia Voices podcast sharing stories from professionals working on the front lines of child well-being in Georgia while diving into the policies and programs that shape the future of Georgia. In the first episode of this podcast, Dr. Anu Sheth, a Georgia pediatrician, speaks about the critical role Medicaid and Medicaid expansion plays in keeping children healthy drawing upon her experiences about preventable medical emergencies from lack of insurance. Listen to the podcast here.

The National Center for Relational Health and Trauma-Informed Care is offering two upcoming webinars focused on trauma-informed pediatric care. “Building Trust Through Trauma-Informed Care” on July 15 at 12pm will highlight the power of relational health in pediatric settings through lived experience and practical strategies to foster trust and psychological safety. “Rethinking ACE Screening” on August 12 at 1pm will feature Dr. Heather Forkey, who will explore the latest research on ACEs screening, its limitations, and alternative trauma-informed approaches in pediatric care. Both webinars are free and open to all—please share with your networks!

Job Opportunities

Georgia Health Initiative is hiring for two in-person leadership roles based in Atlanta: Director of Community Engagement, who will lead programs centered on maternal health and community-driven strategies to advance health equity; and Director of Policy Strategies, who will guide policy initiatives, research, and partner engagement to support equitable health outcomes across Georgia. Applications are due via email by July 14th.

Professional Development

Join the Compassionate Cities of Georgia Initiative! The Compassionate Cities of Georgia Initiative, led by Compassionate Atlanta , is seeking local changemakers and trusted community champions in Lenox, Moultrie, and Hahira to help spark compassion in their communities. Participants will receive leadership training, resource development, and may qualify for micro-grants to bring simple acts of care to life in public spaces. This opportunity is open to those working in youth services, mental health, education, peer and disability support, faith-based work, small business, and the arts. Please spread the word and folks interested should apply here by July 15th!