The Rite Aid Foundation announced today a $15,000 grant to Impact Alabama. A non-profit organization based in Birmingham, Impact Alabama works collaboratively with higher education institutions and their surrounding communities in order to develop and implement social justice projects that work to achieve fundamental and systemic change throughout the State of Alabama. The organization will use the grant to expand FocusFirst, a vision screening program for children ages six months to five years, in Head Start classrooms and lower-income daycares across the state. The Rite Aid Foundation previously awarded Impact Alabama a $15,000 grant in 2010.

“Every child deserves quality healthcare, regardless of their environment or their family’s ability to pay,” said Gayle Rife, Manager of The Rite Aid Foundation.

Governor Robert Bentley will join members of the Alabama Agribusiness Council on Tuesday to release a report on the economic impact of agriculture and forestry in Alabama.

The study was compiled by Auburn University’s Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology.  It was a collaborative effort between several public and private entities to develop a baseline of data to underscore the importance of agriculture and forestry products in Alabama.  The last time a report of this scope was compiled was in 1989.
 
Tuesday’s news conference is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. at the RSA Plaza Terrace, located at 770 Washington Avenue, 6th Floor in Montgomery

Source:  Press Office for Governor Robert Bentely

 Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), a Department of Defense agency, is encouraging Guardsmen and Reservists to nominate their civilian employers for the 2013 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award before the January 21 deadline. The Freedom Award is the nation’s highest recognition for employers supporting Guard and Reserve members. Employers of every size and industry are eligible to receive the honor. Guard and Reserve members, or a family member acting on their behalf, may nominate their employers at www.FreedomAward.mil.

"With today's evolving missions of the Reserve Component, as we adapt to the current national security policy, America's employers continue to provide steadfast support to the more than one million men and women serving in the National Guard and Reserve at home and abroad.