NORFOLK, VA- Residents of Grandy Village, a public housing community in Norfolk, will be the focus of a unique effort to boost child immunization rates.

An open house will be held from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., Tuesday, June 26, at Grandy Village, 3151 Kimball Terrace, to introduce the Browning Ambassador project, which will use volunteers to spread the word about the importance of immunization and proper health care for children.

Volunteers will be on hand to assess children's immunization records, give vaccinations and offer information about free health insurance programs.

The Browning Ambassador project, a pilot program, is funded by a $250,000 anonymous gift to the Center for Pediatric Research in memory of Rudy and Olive Browning, a Virginia Beach couple killed in a plane crash March 16, 1999.

The Center for Pediatric Research is a joint program of EVMS and Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters.

In Hampton Roads, the immunization rate for children at 24 months is only 70 percent. And 40,000 children in the region are uninsured, even though many are eligible for coverage at no cost.