Heartland Healthy Neighborhoods announced $90,000 of grants and plans for 2016 at their end of the year luncheon on December 14, 2015.
Heartland Healthy Neighborhoods will provide $30,000 to fund two current projects that promote Complete Streets. $16,500 will go to the Topeka Bikeways for bikeway road signs. The money will be able to pay for the completion of phase one and the start of phase two in the Bikeways Master Plan.
The remaining $13,500 will fund Youth Bike Education, a program that coordinates clinics to teach children how to ride bikes. It also teaches children the safest ways to ride a bike. The Topeka Community Foundation gave the program $10,000 through their healthy initiatives grant opportunity. The two grants secured the final dollars to move the program forward.
“To us, this means… an ability to reach out to students… and help provide safe riding education and opportunities,” said Andy Fry, Heartland Healthy Neighborhoods Complete Streets co-chair.
In addition to grants made by Heartland Healthy Neighborhoods, the coalition announced that they have received an in-kind gift of $50,000 in leadership training from the Kansas Leadership Foundation for its members and partners.
“I want everyone to remember that this is a really cool thing we’re in the middle of right now,” said John Calbeck, HHN chair. “Talk about some exciting news.”
The meeting also marked the introduction of HHN’s newest program, Communities of Care.
“Our focus is the… Medicare consumer, but whatever we do for this group translates well for all individuals in our community,” said Vanessa Lamoreaux, project manager at Kansas Foundation for Medical Care.
Heartland Healthy Neighborhoods work groups include:
- Healthy Babies
- Access and Knowledge of Health Care
- Healthy Living Active Living
- Workwell Shawnee County
- Communities of Care
- Healthy Eating Active Living
- Complete Streets
Heartland Healthy Neighborhoods’ mission is to mobilize the community to take action on health priorities so that policy, environment, and practice influences a culture shift toward health and wellness for everyone in Shawnee County.
