$100,000 in Grant Funds Available to Address Health Issues in Polk or Hardee County
Monday July 26, 2010
The United Way of Central Florida is offering $100,000 in new grant funding for programs that address issues in Polk or Hardee County.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE COMPLETE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
CLICK HERE FOR THE MOBILIZING FOR ACTION THROUGH PLANNING AND PARTNERSHIP (MAPP) REPORT OF FINDINGS
CLICK HERE FOR THE COMMUNITY HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PLAN (CHIP)
Numerous measures of health outcomes show that Polk and Hardee Counties lag behind state and national health performance. There are pressing economic, social and health issues that require the improvement of people's health in our area.
Volunteers of the Health Impact Study Committee met for a year reviewing current programming in the community and surveying community needs. The committee relied heavily on two existing health documents: Mobilizing for Action Through Planning and Partnership (MAPP) and the County Health Improvement Plan (CHIP).
The United Way Board of Directors, upon recommendation of the committee, agreed to allow $100,000 in grant funds to be awarded to programs that maintain or improve the health of people in Polk and Hardee counties. Target issues include increasing access to health care, reducing unnecessary medical interventions such as emergency room visits, and providing education that helps people of all ages maintain or improve their health.
“Improving people's health requires ACCESS and ACTION, both from people and from the health system,” said Bruce Abels, president, Fairfield Logistics Advisors (retired president, Saddle Creek Corporation), who led the study. “People will be more successful at being healthy if the Health system is ALIGNED around increasing healthy behaviors, eliminating risky behaviors, and managing "root cause" health problems such as obesity, diabetes and hyper-tension. That is what we are working to accomplish through this health study process.”
Programs that receive the grant funding will become United Way partners and will be invited to the annual grant process. This continuing connection with funds raised by United Way is meant to help programs make a long-term commitment to creating lasting change and improve the health of the community.
“Health dictates our ability to function on a daily basis,” said Terry Worthington, President of the United Way of Central Florida. “We are excited about inviting new and existing partners to show us how they can help people be healthier and more active.”
Applications are due on September 13, 2010 and are available above. Initial applicants will be evaluated by the Community Impact Grant Selection Committee and notified if they will move to the next step in the process by October 22, 2010. Those invited to participate in the second step of application will attend training and supply further information about their program. The deadline for the second step is January 28, 2011. A volunteer committee called a Community Investment Team (CIT) will evaluate those proposals and grant winners will be announced on July 1, 2011.
