January 7, 2021

 

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 IN THIS EDITION:

Project YES Recruitment Assistance NCSU 
Cooper mobilizes National Guard to boost vaccine rollout WRAL 
As COVID-19 vaccination slowly ramps up, the first of the second doses arrive in NC News&Record 
Food bank distributed 11 million meals in SE NC in 2020 Fayetteville Observer 
January 7th — Today in Guard History National Guard 

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Project YES Recruitment Assistance NCSU 

Are you or do you know a college student, sophomore – graduate, that would be interested in completing a one year internship program with Project YES (Youth Extension Services)? To learn more visit Project Youth Extension Service (YES).

Project Youth Extension Service (YES) is a national internship program designed to meet the unique needs of National Guard and Reserve Component military youth impacted by deployment while simultaneously providing participating interns invaluable training, education, and experiential-learning experiences designed to enhance vocational awareness and career-planning. Project YES combines the needs of military-connected youth impacted by deployments with college interns looking to deepen their knowledge and gain real-world experience working with youth and teens.

Project YES also serves as a career development program. Participating interns are paired with individually matched mentors and complete a tailored, career-broadening project designed to help define, refine, and deepen future career options.

Cooper mobilizes National Guard to boost vaccine rollout WRAL 

RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday mobilized the North Carolina National Guard to speed up the state’s vaccine rollout.

“Ensuring COVID-19 vaccines are administered quickly is our top priority right now,” Cooper tweeted. “We will use all resources and personnel needed. I’ve mobilized the NC National Guard to provide support to local health providers as we continue to increase the pace of vaccinations.”

About 50 Guard members will be operational in the coming days, officials said. Some will handle logistics planning or command and control center support, while others will be on vaccination teams available to support state efforts.

The logistics and command and control personnel will be assigned to work with the state Division of Emergency Management’s Regional Coordination Centers in Kinston, Butner and Concord, officials said. The vaccination teams will be mobile, with time and locations to be determined.

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As COVID-19 vaccination slowly ramps up, the first of the second doses arrive in NC News&Record 

The distribution of COVID-19 vaccine reaches a milestone this week as the first people to be inoculated in North Carolina get the second dose needed to make it fully effective.

Meanwhile, Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday he is activating the North Carolina National Guard to help with the rollout of vaccines across the state, which ranks at the bottom of states for getting the vaccine to residents.

The first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech were given to a small number of hospital employees on Dec. 14. Since then, tens of thousands of hospital workers across the state have received their initial doses.

But Pfizer and the Food and Drug Administration say a second dose must be given about 21 days after the first to make the vaccine 95% effective. Duke University Health System, which was the first to begin vaccinating workers in the Triangle, began administering second doses on Sunday, said Gail Shulby, who oversees vaccination planning.

“FDA guidance says 4 days before or after the precise 21-day date is allowable for the second dose,” Shulby wrote in an email.

Both doses of the vaccine are identical. The federal government keeps the second doses in reserve and allocates them to the states, which then passes them on to hospitals as the second shot is due.

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Food bank distributed 11 million meals in SE NC in 2020 Fayetteville Observer 

“Better Together” is the current motto of Feeding America and the best takeaway of the year that was 2020. It was a year in which the needs and challenges of our communities rose to record-breaking heights.

According to the N.C. Dept. of Commerce, over 1.3 million North Carolinians applied for unemployment benefits from March to December of 2020. This data signifies the loss of income, stable housing and reliable food sources for thousands of residents.

Second Harvest Food Bank, a program of Action Pathways, Inc., serves Cumberland, Sampson, Duplin, Bladen, Harnett, Robeson and Hoke counties. The Food Bank’s mission of hunger relief is carried out by a modest staff and volunteer groups who deliver services to families and individuals facing food insecurity.

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January 7th — Today in Guard History National Guard 

January 6, 1777
Morristown, NJ – In the 18th century it was common for armies to ‘hole up’ for the winter and few campaigns or battles took place. General George Washington broke this mold, with his darling strikes first at Trenton on December 26th, 1776, and again at Princeton on January 3rd. After the Battle of Princeton his army was in need of rest and reorganization. So he moved it into the Watchung Mountains of northern New Jersey for the winter. Here his men built log huts to keep warm and because of the army’s recent successes its ranks grew steady by spring as new recruits joined the cause. Washington selected this area for several reasons, the most important of which was its close proximity to New York City, the main base of the British Army. From here he was able to keep an eye on the enemy while being protected from surprise attack by the high ground he occupied. The local population was very supportive so food was obtained rather easily. And the area had iron works used for weapons repair and other purposes. Washington was so impressed by the benefits offered his army here that he again quartered his troops at Morristown during the bitter winter of 1779-1780.

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