HEART OF GLOUCESTER COUNTY
Paths to Self Sufficiency
VOL 5, ISSUE 8
February 2016
Women, Take Care of Your Heart
Chest pains. Shortness of
breath. Pain down your arm.
You know what this is – a
heart attack. But what about
nausea or vomiting, along with
back pain? Or shortness of
breath and dizziness? These
are also common heart attack
symptoms, especially in
women.
Heart disease is the
Number 1 killer of women in
the United States, but women
often mistake the
symptoms for less lifethreatening conditions such
as acid reflux or the flu.
Many women are so busy
putting their families first
and taking care of those
around them, they aren’t
thinking that they might
actually be on their way to
having a heart attack.
Heart disease causes onethird of women’s deaths each
year, but only one-fifth of
women believe heart disease
is their greatest health
risk. And, while women
worry about heart disease
in their fathers, brothers,
husbands and sons, heart
disease actually kills more
women than men each
year. It’s not about age,
either. In fact, each year
about 88,000 women
between the ages of 45
and 64 have a heart
attack.
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Take control! Follow
these steps to help
prevent heart disease:
 Schedule an
appointment with your
doctor. If you haven’t
had a physical in years,
now is the time to get
back on track – you
should have one every
year. At this
appointment, ask your
doctor about your risk
for heart disease.
If you smoke, quit now.
Just one year after you
quit, you’ll cut your risk
of coronary heart
disease by 50 percent.
Exercise. You don’t
have to run a marathon;
walking just 30 minutes
a day can lower your
risk for heart attack and
stroke. Make it a family
affair and take
everyone out after
dinner, or squeeze in a
walk during your lunch
break.
takes place between
February 12th to 15th.
Participation is easy—
pick a place—it could be
Upcoming Life
Skills Classes
 Simplify,
Organize and
Declutter Your
Home
 Conflict
Management
 Nutrition and
Fitness—A
Way of Life—
Not a
Temporary Fix

For the Birds

Above and
Beyond:
Angels of God
...continued on page 4
The Great Backyard Bird Count
Every February since
1998, bird lovers from
around the globe spend a
minimum of 15 minutes
counting birds native to
their neighborhoods in
support of The Great
Backyard Bird Count.
This year the count,
which helps scientists as
well as the public learn
more about birds, their
numbers and migrations,

your backyard or school, at
work or play and dedicate
a minimum of 15 minutes
of your time to count the
birds you see. Feel free to
count for a longer period of
time if you want to. Then
just go online to
BirdCount.org and follow
the directions for entering
the types and numbers of
birds you have seen.
Source: gbbc.birdcount.org

Take Care of
Your Heart,
continued

Know Bullying

Chocolaty
Mocha
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3
4
4
Next COTT
Meeting:
February 25th at
EIRC—see website
for details
Upcoming Life Skills Classes
Simplify, Organize and
Declutter Your HOME
Have you ever felt like the walls in your
house were beginning to close in
because you have too much “stuff”?
Have you ever held onto items just
because “someone might need it”? Why
are you holding on to useless things that
take up space and your time? If you
don’t absolutely love it, then “leaving it”
is a good thing to do! Come to this
workshop to learn life-changing tips
about how to declutter your stuff and
make your life more organized, serene
and peaceful. We will also touch upon
the basics of Feng Shui which can help
you manage your life with prosperity,
relationships, health and career.
Date: Monday, February 8
Time: 6:00 - 8:30 pm
Presenter: Loretta Anthony, Executive
Assistant to Vice President of Student
Services at RCGC
Conflict Management
Workshop
Do you have the self-awareness, solid
communication skills, and motivation to
resolve uncomfortable situations? Those
who embrace conflict can build
understanding and better relationships —
and experience greater personal and
professional success. But managing
conflict is not easy. In this workshop,
you’ll discover your own emotional
triggers and learn how to manage
Nutrition and Fitness—A Way
of Life—Not a Temporary Fix
Healthy eating and fitness is not a
destination it is a way of life. This
workshop will help you begin to take
control of your lifestyle by showing you
ways of making better decisions for
eating and exercising. Learn to exercise
your mind and body so you can bring
better health into your life.
Date: Thursday, March 10
Time: 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Presenter: Cheryl McBride, Director of
RCGC Student Life
difficult encounters with diplomacy, tact,
and credibility. After this workshop,
participants will be able to: Diagnose
conflict within their personal and work
relationships, find the hidden agenda
that’s really fueling the battle, identify
anger triggers and remain poised in
conflict situations, encourage
collaborative problem solving and gain
consensus, and learn a variety of
strategies for managing conflict.
Date: Monday, February 29
Time: 6:30 — 9:00 pm
Presenter: Shannon White, MSW, LCSW
Yoga Alliance — 200-hr. RYT Certified
Instructor; CPR/AED/First Aid Certified
Registration for these workshops is
MANDATORY.
Workshops are held at:
Rowan College at Gloucester County
1400 Tanyard Road, Sewell, NJ 08080
Register by calling:
People in Transition
856-415-2222
or email peopleintransition@rcgc.edu
For the Birds!
Snow on the ground makes it difficult for
our backyard friends to find food. Here
are suggestions for some good winter
mixes:
Winter Craft Ideas for Birders
32 Homemade Bird Feeders to Make with
Kids This Winter
http://happyhooligans.ca/32-homemadebird-feeders/
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Black-oil sunflower seed
White Proso Millet
Peanuts
Suet cakes: commercially made
suet cakes fit the standard-size suet
feeder
 Nyjer seed
 Cracked corn: choose medium-sized
cracked corn, as fine will quickly
turn to mush and coarse is too large
for small-beaked birds.
Unsafe foods:

Bread (fresh or stale): provides no
Page 2
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real nutritional value for birds;
moldy bread can harm birds.
Chocolate: toxic to birds, just as it is
to dogs and cats (it contains theobromine); never offer birds any
foods containing chocolate.
Table scraps: some may not be safe
or healthy for birds; most table
scraps will attract mice or rats.
23 DIY Birdfeeders That Will Fill Your
Garden With Birds
http://www.diyncrafts.com/3515/home/
23-diy-birdfeeders-will-fill-garden-birds
DIY Bird Seed Blends for Feeding Wild
Birds (and a Guide to the Best Seeds)
http://northcoastgardening.com/2015/0
2/diy-bird-seed-blends/
Source: www.humanesociety.org/
animals/resources/tips/feeding_birds.html
Volume 5, Issue 8
February ABC: Paying it Forward:
Katelyn Darrow
The Above
and Beyond the
Call (ABC)
recipient this
month is
Katelyn Darrow,
founder of
Angels of God
Clothing Closet
in Pitman, N.J.
At 18, she has
overcome
obstacles that
could have had a much different effect
on her life, and used her experiences
to help others and become a role
model for young people.
Most 12-year-olds are concerned
about school, sports and friends – but
not Katelyn. By 12, she had already
experienced two incredible life
challenges. As a young girl, she and her
sisters and mother escaped from a
domestic violence situation, and when
she was nine, her family experienced a
house fire.
In both situations, Katelyn and her
family relied on friends, family and
community resources for even their
most basic needs. Knowing how it felt
to literally have nothing, the 12-yearold told her mother, Elissa Darrow, she
wanted to help people in need. She
was so grateful for the help she and
her family had received and wanted to
pay it forward. Elissa was on board.
With her mother’s support, Katelyn
created Angels of God Clothing Closet
to help people in need obtain clothing
at no cost.
Heart of Gloucester County
“The community helped us
tremendously during our tough times,”
says Elissa. “How can we not pay it
forward? Angels of God gives us the
outlet to do so.”
People in need can simply walk into
the storefront and shop for free. The
non-profit has helped more than
17,000 people in the six years since it
was formed, and it now offers much
more than clothing. The group
expanded to include a food pantry (for
people AND pets) and toiletry bank onsite, and offers seasonal drives for
items such as Halloween costumes,
Christmas toys and Easter baskets.
And, Angels of God hosts holiday
parties and other activities for its
clients. The location has physically
grown as well, and was renovated a
few years ago by volunteers from the
Home Depot.
As the organization has grown, so
too has Katelyn. An incredibly poised
and mature young woman, she has
appeared on national talk shows and
has spoken to groups about Angels of
God and giving back to the community.
“Regardless of your age or your
circumstances, you can make a
difference,” says Katelyn. “I was only
12 when I started a 501(c)3 charity, so
if I can inspire another young person to
do that, it can create a ripple effect of
volunteerism.”
For Katelyn, this is only the
beginning. Now a freshman in college,
she looks forward to pursuing her
studies in journalism and continuing to
help others. Although she’s 3,000
miles away from Angels of God, she’s
still very involved with the group. “It’s
like my baby!” she admits. “Even
though I'm not physically there in New
Jersey, there's a lot I can do via Skype
and online. I still run board meetings,
but through a webcam. We try to make
it work despite the distance.” Her two
sisters, Lindsay and Brenna, have also
taken on leadership roles within the
group.
“I have always taught my girls to
have a giving heart and to give back to
others,” says Elissa. “But most
important, we are stronger than any
problem put in front of us, and we have
the power to shape our future. The
struggles we went through have given
us an unbreakable bond.”
Katelyn agrees. During tough times,
“the most important thing to do is to
keep your faith and persevere. My
family and I went through trying times,
but it only made us stronger. The
challenges we overcame shaped my
family into compassionate and
empathetic people. I wouldn't change
a thing.”
Contributed by Melissa Lukach
Page 3
Take Care of Your Heart,
KnowBullying App - FREE
(continued from page 1)

Eat healthier, and make your family
eat healthier so you don’t have to
do it alone. The American Heart
Association website offers healthy
cooking tips to get you started.
Women are often seen as the
caregivers of the family, but we can’t
forget to take care of ourselves, too.
Contributed by Melissa Lukach
Heart Attack Signs in Women
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Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of
your chest. It lasts more than a few
minutes, or goes away and comes
back.
Pain or discomfort in one or both
arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
Shortness of breath with or without
chest discomfort.
Other signs such as breaking out in
a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest
pain or discomfort. But women are
somewhat more likely than men to
experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting
and back or jaw pain.
If you have any of these signs, call
9-1-1 and get to a hospital
immediately.
Studies show that opening a
dialogue with your child about bullying
can make a difference! By talking to
your child you can give them the tools
they need to defend themselves
against bullies and help them develop
a healthy self-esteem.
The Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration
(SAMSHA) has a free app that gives
parents and educators some of the
tools they need to talk with their kids
about bullying. You’ll find tips for
different age groups, information on
some of the warning signs that your
child may be the victim of bullying or is
bullying someone else, ideas for
conversation starters, and more.
There is also a section for educators.
Go to your app store and look for:
KnowBullying by SAMSHA or the web
site:
store.samhsa.gov/apps/knowbullying/
Chocolaty Mocha Fondue Recipe
Treat your Valentine (and your family) to
a special, delicious chocolaty dessert
this Valentine’s Day!
Strawberries,
pineapple,
and bananas work
especially well.
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
Dash ground cinnamon
Assorted fresh fruit and cubed
pound cake
In a heavy saucepan, melt
chocolate chips with cream
Ingredients
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over low heat, stirring con-
1 package (11-1/2
stantly. Dissolve coffee in
ounces) milk chocolate
water; stir into chocolate
chips
mixture. Stir in vanilla and
1/3 cup heavy whip-
cinnamon.
ping cream
Serve with fresh fruit and
2 teaspoons instant
cake cubes.
Keep
warm.
coffee granules
Information taken from the American Heat
Association website, www.heart.org.
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4 teaspoons hot water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
HGC Collaborators
The Center for People in Transition
People for People Foundation is the lead
agency for the Heart of Gloucester County
Volunteer Center of Southern NJ
collaboration.
Tel: (856) 579-8252
info@heartofgloucestercounty.org
www.heartofgloucestercounty.org
Text: “askheart” at #66746
Senior Corps
Center for Family Services
Clayton Public Schools
Educational Information and
Resource Center (EIRC)
/heartofgloucestercounty
@HeartGC1
Source: www.TasteofHome.com/recipes
Funding provided by: