Multiple chapters of the service nonprofit The Links, Incorporated will host a medical clinic on Saturday and Sunday at Prince George’s Community College, in collaboration with Remote Area Medical (RAM).

The Links teamed up with Capital Area Food Bank to address health disparities within Prince George’s County, using the tagline “Creating a healthy Prince George’s.” They will pass out bags filled with produce.

“We want to shed a light on the opioid and mental health crisis, so there’s information and a path forward for that for this weekend,” said Rosalind Daniel Walker, president of the Links’ Mount Rose chapter.

The weekend-long health clinic is free and no identification is needed. RAM will offer dental, vision and medical services. According to Brad Sands of RAM, the services including cleanings, extractions, fillers, making glasses, providing prescriptions, women’s health services, mental health services and STI testing.

Dr. Lisa Loury Lomas, the eastern area director of The Links said the clinic was a labor of love that took over a year to arrange.

“To come together and collaborate really reflects the first of our two tenants: friendship and service,” Lomas said.

One of her focuses is Black family health, and the event reflects that.

“If the Black family is healthy, then the community is healthy,” Lomas said.

Here’s what to know if you’re planning to attend the clinic

• The clinic will take place at the Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Maryland
• The patient parking lot will open at 11:59 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10, and will remain open throughout the clinic
• Clinic doors open each day at 6 a.m.
• Services offered: dental cleanings, dental fillings, dental extracts, dental X-rays, eye exams, eye health exams, eyeglass prescriptions, eyeglasses made onsite, women’s and men’s health exams, general medical exams, and medical physicals

Sands said RAM doesn’t deploy services to anywhere where they’re not invited; groups like The Links reach out to them and start the process of bringing the clinic to the community.

“No clinic is too small. There’s no clinic that’s too big. We only go if we’re invited, but we will always go,” Sands said.

Go here for more information.

The winning organizations are addressing the needs of their diverse local communities through the lenses of one of three grant categories: Next Generation Storytellers, Youth Education & Empowerment, and Community Engagement.

Early this year, NBC4, Telemundo 44, and Comcast NBCUniversal announced the rebranding of their grant program from “Project Innovation” to “NBCUniversal Local Impact Grants”, reflecting its local grassroots focus.

The 2023 NBCUniversal Local Impact Grants recipients in the DC region include:  

• Mary House, Inc.  – $80,000
• Artstream, Inc.  – $50,000

• Historic Sotterley, Inc.  – $45,000

• Pickett Fences Senior Services, Inc.  – $20,000
• Aspire Afterschool Learning  – $15,000

• Washington Architectural Foundation  – $10,000
• Page One of Page County, Inc. $5,000

For a list of NBCUniversal Local Impact Grants winners nationwide, click here.

Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. One study shows Black women make up about 90% of the birth-related deaths in D.C.

A new documentary, “Birthing Justice,” is designed to save lives by sharing information about the maternal health crisis.

Pre-release screenings are already happening around the country.

The maternal health crisis isn’t new, but the latest studies underscore its severity. “Birthing Justice” shows what’s going on in D.C. and across the country by covering what it’s like to be a Black birthing worker on the ground as the crisis deepens.

“Black women who are dying during childbirth, because they are ignored when their concerns are heard,” said Ebony Marcelle, the director of midwifery at Community of Hope, a D.C. nonprofit working to help families.

Marcelle says the maternal health system is not working, in part because care is more generalized, which works against Black women. Marcelle emphasized that not all births need to happen outside a hospital, but it can be hard to convince some Black families who fear the worst case scenario in a hospital.

“Some folks may feel like, ‘hey, I’m scared of the hospital, so even though my birth and my pregnancy probably need to managed there, I’m too scared to go in there, so I’m going to try some alternatives that may not be appropriate,” Marcelle said.

“I’m constantly hearing from families that, like, hey, we just don’t want to die, we just want to be safe, just very very — entering this really beautiful life transition, just covered in a lot of negativity, and worry and fear,” she said.

Feb 26, 2022

How a DC Photographer Captures Black Mothers Who ‘Carry the World'

coronavirus pandemic Feb 23, 2022

Pregnancy-Related Deaths Rose in 2020, Especially Among Black Mothers

CDC Jan 30, 2020

US Finally Has Better Maternal Mortality Data. Black Mothers Still Fare the Worst

A study of 2 million childbirths in California shows even the richest Black mothers and their babies are twice as likely to die as the richest white mothers and their babies.

Marcelle wants policy makers, funders and insurance companies to really look at the new options out there that can reduce fatal outcomes for Black women.

The documentary will be released on PBS during Black Maternal Health Month in April, but to learn more now, you can go to this website.

Here’s How to Donate to Food 4 Families

Click here to donate any amount of money through the Greater Washington Community Foundation’s Food 4 Families Fund.

All proceeds go to feed our neighbors in the DMV region.

Our thanks to you for making a difference! And sincere appreciation to our Food 4 Families partners at Trustar Bank and the Magnet Nurses of MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

With winter on the way, many people in the D.C. area need a warm coat to shield them from the cold. You can help make that happen by donating a new or gently worn winter coat to help people in need.

This year, we are requesting donations of coats for babies and children, along with winterwear in adult sizes. Donations will be accepted from November 6th through December 16th at any Burke & Herbert Bank location.

You can also drop off coat donations at the following Salvation Army Corps locations.

• Sherman Avenue Corp – 3335 Sherman Ave, NW, Washington DC
• Solomon G. Brown Corps – 2300 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE, Washington, DC
• Montgomery County Corps – 20021 Aircraft Drive, Germantown, MD
• Prince George’s Corps – 4825 Edmonston Road, Hyattsville, MD
• Alexandria Citadel Corps – 1804 Mt. Vernon Ave, Alexandria VA
• Fairfax Corps – 4915 Ox Road, Fairfax, VA
• Prince William Corps – 1483 Old Bridge Road, Suite 102, Woodbridge, VA
• Arlington Corps – 518 South Glebe Road, Arlington VA

Special thanks to the Salvation Army National Capital Area Command, Burke & Herbert Bank, and you!  Together we are making a difference and sharing the warmth this winter.