Good news! In 2023, the GAFP’s Foundation (Georgia Healthy Family Alliance) received an unprecedented amount of donations to support our Immediate Needs Grants – targeting underserved and/or rural communities.

No one knows better than our members the needs that would give an immediate boost to your community.  We have been challenged to give out up to 50 ($50,000) Immediate Needs Grants before the end of March.

We invite you to apply for a grant (OR have someone apply for it – with your permission as the “member-sponsor”).  It takes less than 15 minutes to apply, and the money is sent out within 3-5 business days.

Recent grants have supported:

• Re-tooling of a home for a medically fragile child
• Transportation Assistance
• Food Assistance
• Prescription Assistance for the Elderly
• Domestic Violence Shelter Needs (formula/diapers)
• Medical Supplies for Schools
• Backpacks for weekend meals for Title I schools

The Immediate Needs Grant application can be submitted electronically by clicking here: https://form.jotform.com/232705001403135. In addition, you can also scan the QR code below to complete the application. Questions? Contact Kara Sinkule – ksinkule@gafp.org or call 404-321-7445.

Tar Wars is off to a great start this year, with presentations having already taken place at Lakeview Academy in Gainesville! The presenters and school counselor reported that Tar Wars was a hit with the students. Students were engaged in the presentation, had a great time, and said that they learned more about smoking and vaping than they knew previously. Thanks to our presenters Dr. Maria Munoz-Bramhall and Samantha Summers for covering this event and making it a hit!

This is just the beginning! Upcoming are presentations scheduled in Lumpkin, Bibb, and Savannah-Chatham. As Tar Wars continues to grow and spread across the state, we will need more support from volunteers willing to be trained in presenting. Please email Lauren Shamblin, our Statewide Tar Wars Manager, at lshamblin@gafp.org or set up a meeting through Calendly (https://calendly.com/tarwars) and you too can make a difference through Tar Wars!

In 1988, the American Academy of Family Physicians launched Tar Wars, a comprehensive tobacco education program that teaches students the dangers of utilizing tobacco products. Since that time, hundreds of thousands of students nationally have gone through Tar Wars and been impacted by its message.

Tar Wars has recently gotten a facelift, with a new emphasis on the impact that vaping can have. The newly improved program is interactive, engaging, and based on facts that help students understand the material in a novel way. In 2021, Governor Kemp signed House Bill 287 which requires tobacco and vaping education in all Georgia public schools. Tar Wars is the leading way that this information is passed on to students.

To help celebrate Tar Wars and engage more schools in the program, timers are being sent to schools in Georgia with the tagline “It’s Time for Tar Wars!” We hope that this interactive element will help principals and counselors remember Tar Wars and sign up their schools for a presentation!

Are you interested in being a part of Tar Wars history? Sign up to be a presenter! Email Lauren Shamblin at lshamblin@gafp.org to schedule a training or get more information about how you can make an impact in your community through Tar Wars.

The Georgia Healthy Family Alliance (GHFA) welcomed four new members to the Alliance Board of Trustees in 2024. Shikha Shah, MD and Kristen Kahrmann, MD, both of Columbus, will join Dr. Bruce LeClair of Augusta as Trustees on the GHFA Board this year. In addition, Najeeb Siddiq, MD of Atlanta and the WellStar Douglas Family Medicine Residency program was elected to serve a two-year term as a Resident board member.

Dr. Shah was born and raised in India and moved to the United States after completing medical school at Rural Medical College of Pravara Medical Trust in Loni India. After graduation, she completed her internship and residency at Midtown Medical Center in Columbus, Georgia where she currently operates Prestige Family Medicine.

A Georgia native, Dr. Kahrmann completed her medical education at Mercer University School of Medicine’s Columbus Campus and Piedmont Columbus Regional’s Family Medicine Residency Program. During her residency, Dr. Kahrmann served as a GHFA Resident Trustee for two years.  She currently practices at Horizons Diagnostics in Columbus.

GAFP Past President and former GHFA Trustee and Executive Committee member Dr. LeClair has joined the Alliance Board for a one-year term to fill the unexpired seat of Dr. Harry Strothers. Dr. LeClair serves as Emeritus Faculty at Augusta University having served as the Ollie O. McGahee, Jr., M.D. Chair in Family Medicine Professor.

New Resident board member and Metro-Atlanta native Dr. Siddiq earned his medical degree from American University of Integrative Sciences. He is currently a Resident at WellStar Douglas Family Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Siddiq regularly presented the Tar Wars tobacco and vaping prevention program to youth across Georgia while in medical school.

The mission of the Alliance is to enhance the well-being of Georgia citizens through educational and community programs that promote healthy practices consistent with the principles of family medicine. Learn more about our Foundation’s work at www.georgiahealthyfamilyalliance.org.