A Weekly Note from Mayor Gary L. Graham
“Traditional Values, Progressive Thinking”
I am pleased to announce that the St. Clair County Pioneering Healthier Communities (PHC) initiative is offering a new Collaborative Community Health (CCH) grants program. Proposals are being solicited for projects that increase opportunities for physical activity and healthy eating through policy or environmental change.
I encourage O’Fallon organizations that have an interest in promoting physical activity and healthy eating in our community to apply for this grant. Childhood obesity is a serious problem in today’s society and these grants will go a long way toward helping our children to eat healthy and be active.
Eligible organizations located in St. Clair County can request up to $2,500 for one time funding. The number of projects to be awarded will be based on current funding availability. Awards for this opportunity do not exclude recipients from being eligible for other CCH grant funding opportunities that may arise as part of St. Clair County’s ongoing Get Up & Go! Health and Wellness Campaign.
Funding from this portion of the CCH grants program will allow for organizations to implement sustainable change to help create a healthier St. Clair County.~ A downloadable version of the application is located on the Get Up & Go! web site located at www.getupgo.info. Additionally, the web site contains toolkits and other resources as well as links to assist school groups and community based organizations with ideas and local suggestions.
Grant Eligibility:
-All Applicants Must Be:
-Located in St. Clair County
-Non-profit organizations including, but not limited to schools, communities, or -human service organizations
-Willing to advise/assist other St. Clair County organizations for at least one year following the award period~
~Information and Requirements:
-Applications are currently available on the Get Up & Go web site
-Complete and submit application by 5 p.m. June 4, 2010
-Awards announced by July 5, 2010
About Pioneering Healthier Communities
Nationally, the Pioneering Healthier Communities (PHC) initiative began as a collaborative effort between the Y-USA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in response to America’s growing health crisis.~ Since 2004, PHC has provided funding for over 102 local efforts across the country to improve community health by creating effective policy and environmental changes that increase active living and healthy eating.~ In 2008, St. Clair County was recognized as a Pioneering Healthier Community and was awarded seed funds to form and train a leadership team.~ The leadership team developed a community action plan to strengthen the framework of the existing health and wellness campaign known as Get Up & Go!~ In 2009, the St. Clair County PHC initiative received additional funding to implement its
community action plan to focus on two things: (1) a collaborative partnership with members of the Get Up & Go! Campaign and the St. Clair County Health Care Commission to facilitate an annual Health Policy Summit for local leaders; and, (2) the development of ongoing cooperative agreements with schools and neighborhoods to strengthen community capacity to initiate and sustain promising practices for active living and healthy eating.
Funding opportunities like the CCH grants are a great way to assist our local non-profits in fulfilling their missions of creating a better quality of life for our residents and community. This is another example of why O’Fallon is such a wonderful community in which to live and work.
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