The MED Foundation of Mercer Health recently applied for a $25,000 grant from State Farm to bring COPE into each Mercer County school and was chosen as one of 200 finalists out of more than 2,000 submissions. The final recipients are chosen via online voting from the community and the top 40 receive $25,000 in funding.

Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment (COPE) is an evidence-based cognitive behavioral skills building program offered through Mercer Healths Center for Healthy Weight and Wellness that helps children, teens and young adults develop skills to stop negative thoughts and to think and act in more positive ways. Limited access to mental health care, cost, insurance coverage, transportation and the time commitment related to taking children out of school to see a professional create barriers that can often prevent the youth in our community from receiving support that they need. Receiving the grand funding to bring COPE into local schools would remove many of these barriers for the children who actively need this support while providing preventative coping skills in order to help them become healthy, positive, productive teens and adults.

By bringing COPE into the schools, we remove the access to care barriers so many students face, Jennifer Bills, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and certified COPE provider, said. By proactively teaching kids how to interrupt negative thoughts and focus on healthy coping mechanisms, we can positively impact the overall health and wellbeing of students in our community.

The MED Foundation is seeking the communitys help by voting for this program to receive one of the forty $25,000 Neighborhood Assist grants from State Farm. Starting today, August 18, U.S. residents who are 18 and older with a valid email address can vote for the cause at neighborhoodassist.com.

About State Farm Neighborhood Assist

State Farm Neighborhood Assist is a crowd-sourced philanthropic initiative that empowers communities to identify issues in their neighborhoods. The State Farm Review Committee selected the top 200 finalists from 2,000 submissions.

About the MED Foundation

The MED Foundation of Mercer Health was established in December of 1988 by a group of community leaders and hospital administration to provide enhancements and educational support for the future of health care services within our community. Our mission is to cultivate philanthropic relationships that enhance Mercer Healths ability to fulfill its mission and vision. The MED Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization.

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The MED Foundation of Mercer Health has been selected as a State Farm Neighborhood Assist Top 200 Finalist - Mercer Health