This November and December Healthy Communities’ is hosting a blood drive with Vitalant, a holiday open house, a parenting workshop regarding sex education, and food and gift drives for homebound seniors and children. Among past events, we were grateful to have an excellent training on Naloxone and harm reducation during our November Healthy Communities’ meeting, led by Lisa Lee of the Life Change Center and John Sauderland. Below is a list of upcoming events, as well as some highlights from earlier in November:

Nov. 26 Blood Drive: To honor the memory of Don Carbery, who volunteered extensively with many projects to help others throughout Nevada and across the U.S., Healthy Communities is welcoming a blood drive by Vitalant. The blood drive takes place at Healthy Communities’ offices at 209 Dayton Valley Road, Dayton on Monday, November 26 from 10am to 2pm. Walk-ins are welcome! You can also make a your life-saving appointment by calling Alisha Moss at Healthy Communities at (775) 246-7550, or by going to BloodHero.com and using sponsor code N1DHC. More details: https://healthycomm.org/2018/11/15/blood-drive-in-dayton-mon-nov-26th/

Nov. 29 Holiday Open House: Healthy Communities’ floral and gift shop, Community Roots & Shoots, hosts its annual Holiday Open House with music, festive appetizers and lots of community spirit on November 29th from 4pm-7pm. You’ll find holiday gift possibilities including unique, handcrafted items and locally made pickles, jams, honey and more, plus floral arrangements, house plants, art, etc. Community Roots is located at 209 Dayton Valley Road, Dayton. Shop local and benefit the area’s school gardens, job skills programs, etc. at the same time. More details: https://healthycomm.org/2018/11/15/nov-29th-holiday-open-house-at-community-roots-and-shoots/

Holiday Hours: Healthy Communities’ Food Pantries in Silver Springs, Dayton, and Yerington will be closed Wed. Nov. 20 through Friday, Nov. 22 for the Thanksgiving holiday. The Pantries were able to reach hundreds of families, as well as homebound seniors, with Thanksgiving meals this year due to donations from individuals, grocery stores, school food drives, FBNN, Catholic Charities, and clubs such as the Over The Hill Motorcycle Club, and deliveries of commodities from USDA. Contact info for our three pantries: https://healthycomm.org/food-hub/food-pantries/

Dec. 4th Parenting Event: “Families Talking Together” offers parents insights about how to talk to their children about sex. Healthy Communities is hosting the free event where parents can learn more, with free food and childcare, on Tuesday, December 4th from 6pm-8pm at the Dayton Community Center at 170 Pike Street. Doors open at 5:30pm. Please reserve your spot by emailing Healthy Communities’ Program Coordinator, Lisa Godenick, at lgodenick@healthycomm.org. More details: https://healthycomm.org/2018/11/15/families-talking-together-december-4th-in-dayton/

Dec 13 Healthy Communities Meeting– 9am at the Silver Springs Community Center. Our guest speakers this month are from Tu Casa Latina. We’ll also offer a special holiday brunch during the meeting. Tu Casa Latina is dedicated to building a better life for women, men and children who are victims of domestic violence, trafficking, or abuse in northern Nevada. They accomplish this through direct service, education, advocacy, and community involvement. http://www.tucasalatina.org/about/

Dec. 21st Shopping with the Elves at the Silver Stage Food Pantry. From 1:00 to 5pm, parents who are guests of the Food Pantry can shop for gifts for their children. The event, which is in its 5th year, includes a chance for children to visit with Santa and have some holiday refreshments while their parents shop. The Pantry is in need of gifts for ages infant to 18 years. The Pantry is in need of donations of gifts for seniors as well. They deliver baskets and gifts to 40 homebound seniors, and sing carols to them as well. The Pantry is normally open Mon-Fri from 10am-4pm if you’d like to donate. Phone: (775)-577-9161.

Taking charge of your health: Public health nursing is available in Nevada’s frontier and rural counties to promote wellness through the delivery of public health nursing, preventive health care, and health education. Community Health Workers with Healthy Communities’ Dayton, Silver Stage and Yerington Food Pantries are happy to help make appointments with the nearest clinic and assist in filling in paperwork if wanted. Public Health Nursing services include immunizations, well-child services, breast and cervical cancer screenings, sexually transmitted disease prevention and treatment, reproductive health and family planning services for both males and females, etc. See this list to locate a community health nursing services near you: http://dpbh.nv.gov/Programs/ClinicalCN/Locations/Rural_Community_Health_Services_Locations/

Garden Education News: Dayton Elementary School was awarded a $5,000 garden grant through the Nevada Department of Agriculture to help fund an outdoor classroom area as well as additional items for the organic school garden! Teacher Tammy Borremans partnered with Healthy Communities’ staff to write the successful grant.