LUMBERTON — Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust recently awarded $445,500 to the Robeson County Partnership for Children as a part of its programmatic funds to engage residents in understanding and mitigating the impacts of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress. The Trust additionally is supporting a regional partnership between Bladen, Columbus, Robeson and potentially Scotland counties to build and expand efforts across county lines.

Robeson County Partnership for Children serves as the backbone agency for ROAR — Robeson Overcoming Adversity Through Resilience. ROAR is a committed group of stakeholders that meet regularly to learn, to partner, and to help build awareness of ACEs and grow resilience in Robeson County. The work of this collaborative builds and focuses on the five protective factors that are known buffers to the harmful effects of ACEs and can essentially serve as prevention for child abuse and neglect. Anyone that is interested in learning more about this work is invited to join our collaborative network. Information can be found on our webpage www.roarinrobeson.org.

“ROAR and the work of our community partners in offering programs, support, and awareness to Robeson County children and families is critical to improving both individual and collective resiliency” stated Stacie Kinlaw, community engagement assistant director for the Partnership for Children. “The financial support from the Trust enabled our community to build a framework of partnership and shared resources to better serve our children and families. We have been able to invest in facilitator trainings, community based awareness and education opportunities and most recently Bright By Text, which is a national text messaging service that is key in educating and supporting parents of children 0 to 8 with proven tips and education for successful parenting.”

If you are interested in learning more about this work in Robeson County, please reach out to Stacie Kinlaw at [email protected] or call 910-738-6767. ROAR partners are available to provide awareness and education at your church, business, school, healthcare facility, etc. to help others learn valuable skills to reduce impacts of stress and trauma and to help empower community members to become more Trauma Informed and learn how to support the protective factors in our community. ROAR meets monthly on the second Thursday at 10 a.m. at the Robeson County Partnership for Children in downtown Lumberton.