News Releases

June 2024

Little Rock, Ark. (June 5, 2024) – Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation (ABHOF) awarded $50,000 in grants to projects benefiting minority and under-served communities in an online grant presentation May 30. These grants support projects focused on education, health and wellness, youth development, strengthening families and economic development in Arkansas. “We are pleased to […]

May 30, 2024

In the aftermath of the tornadoes that ripped through North Arkansas on May 26, Arkansans are doing what we do best- responding to the needs of our neighbors. Whether with chainsaws, hot meals, cold drinks or cell phone charging stations: this is what community looks like. If you’d like to provide financial support to one […]

May 28, 2024

Callie and Dustin Kellums had twins in 2020, a boy named Luke and a girl named Kate. Born prematurely, both newborns required care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro. After a week, Luke was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, and it quickly became apparent that he needed more […]

May 28, 2024

Ujima Maternity Network trains birth professionals to address maternal health disparities By Adena White Maternal deaths from pregnancy-related causes continue to rise. From 2018 to 2021, for every 100,000 live births in Arkansas, 44 mothers died from pregnancy-related complications before their baby’s first birthday. Socioeconomic and racial disparities exacerbate this crisis: Black, non-Hispanic mothers are […]

May 28, 2024

By Jessica Ford Arkansas continues to face troubling challenges as it battles a persistently high infant mortality rate, with recent data painting a grim picture of the state’s struggle to safeguard its babies. The Arkansas Department of Health defines infant mortality as a statistic that looks at the number of babies who die each year […]

May 28, 2024

New nonprofit seeks to amplify the voices of families across Arkansas By Adena White In early May of 2022, Ashley Bearden Campbell’s pregnancy took a sharp turn. She was admitted to the hospital in anticipation that she would remain on bed rest until her baby’s July 1 due date. Health complications necessitated an emergency cesarean […]

May 28, 2024

By Kim Dishongh Allyson Cheatham was anxious when she went for prenatal care during her first pregnancy. “I felt very judged,” said Cheatham, recently discharged from the U.S. Army in 2011. Young and newly pregnant, she returned home to Arkansas to be near family. “I felt rushed. I felt not heard. As a result, I […]

May 22, 2024

By Olivia Walton What a difference a year can make. Last spring, Arkansas reached an inflection point. We decided that our last-place finish in maternal outcomes was no longer acceptable. We decided that our mothers, our children and our families deserve more. Through education and advocacy, there is now a swell of support for improving […]

May 22, 2024

By Kim Dishongh When a woman is pregnant, there is often no information she values more than the kind that comes from her mother, grandmother, sister and aunts. Those female mentors are not always readily available, however, so the Arkansas Birthing Project works to fill in the gaps. “We work to establish fictive kinship relationships,” […]

May 3, 2024

Getting a jump on a future “to do” list is such a good feeling. The team at the Community Foundation can help you with your clients’ long-term charitable giving plans by putting in place the structures to receive bequests decades from now. Consider a case where you’re finalizing an estate plan for a client who […]