Get in the HSCI Grant Process and Submit Your LOI by FRIDAY
Second round grant applications released online
Anyone interested in taking advantage of the Community Transformation Grant funding provided through the Healthy South Carolina Initiative has until Friday to submit a letter of intent. Visit www.healthysci.org for all of the information you need to enter this process.
HSCI announced recently the second round of grant funding, through the National Community Transformation Grant, to help communities implement policy, systems, and environmental changes that can help reduce obesity and tobacco use. Through www.healthysci.org, eligible applicants can access all of the information needed to apply for an HSCI grant.
Community partners in each funded county will work together to create healthier communities by increasing options for physical activity and healthy eating and reducing tobacco use. They will bridge the gaps in health by making community-wide changes that reduce death and disability due to tobacco use, poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and heart disease and stroke.
“Earlier this year, we were able to fund 38 projects in rural and urban areas across the state,” said Louis Eubank, executive director of the S.C. Tobacco-Free Collaborative. “With this new round of funding, we hope to help many of these communities continue to decrease the burden of chronic diseases.”
Health disparities represent preventable differences in the burden of disease, death, and disability, or in opportunities to achieve optimal health. Grant recipients will engage communities to improve health and address health disparities in a variety of settings in an effort to make the healthy choice the easy choice for all South Carolinians.
“Our statewide objective is to create a healthier South Carolina by achieving a five percent reduction in death and disability due to tobacco use, heart disease and stroke, and a five percent reduction in the rate of obesity through nutrition and physical activity interventions,” said Amy Splittgerber, executive director of Eat Smart, Move More S.C.
Eubank and Splittgerber went on to explain that rather than focusing on individual behavior changes, the HSCI focuses on helping schools, businesses (large and small), government and other places make healthy living part of everyday culture. For example, offices can implement a healthy catering policy in which healthy food/beverage options must be available at business functions. Another example is a faith-based organization creating and enforcing a tobacco-free facility and grounds policy.
South Carolina coalitions, groups, and service organizations that support the goals and objectives of the HSCI are eligible to apply for a grant. Eligible applicants include non-profits, youth groups, schools, civic associations, service clubs, health care organizations, faith-based organizations, parent groups, neighborhood associations, and local community coalitions. Priority will be given to comprehensive community coalitions coordinating efforts to address community health.
More information about the grant process can be found online at www.healthysci.org.
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About Healthy South Carolina Initiative
Healthy South Carolina Initiative is a partnership between the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Eat Smart Move More South Carolina Coalition, the South Carolina Tobacco-Free Collaborative, the Medical University of South Carolina’s Outpatient Quality Improvement Network, and the University of South Carolina, Arnold School of Public Health. The HSCI seeks to create healthier communities and eliminate health disparities through interventions that reduce death and disability due to tobacco use, poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and heart disease and stroke. For more information, visit www.healthysci.org.
About Eat Smart, Move More South Carolina
Eat Smart, Move More South Carolina is a statewide partnership coordinating obesity prevention efforts in South Carolina and aims to make the healthy choice, the easy choice. It is comprised of representatives from community-based organizations, health care systems, voluntary health organizations, academic institutions, state agencies, professional organizations, government and policy makers, and the media. For more information, visit www.eatsmartmovemoresc.org.
