Community Grant Project Year 3
January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018

The UI College of Public Health’s Business Leadership Network Community Grant Program supports projects and activities that build collaborations and support community well-being. Additional support from the UI Provost’s Office of Outreach and Engagement, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, and the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust has funded the community grant program.

Grant Awards:
The following six recipients received cash grant awards of up to $3,000:

Cass County Memorial Hospital, Atlantic
The Walk Cass County project aims to expand and encourage walking as a way to connect families and friends while gaining health benefits. Through their Healthy Cass County division, they will work to provide walking maps with routes of varying lengths in each of the county’s eight cities to help residents become more active.

Fayette County Substance Abuse Coalition, Fayette
The Teen Maze: A Reality Check for Youth project is an experiential learning activity which provides youth in Fayette County the opportunity to see the consequences of their choices in a safe and guided learning environment. This project addresses substance use and mental health issues, healthy relationships, safety, and nutrition. Teen Maze aims to aid youth in understanding how today’s choices affect their future goals.

Lee County Health Department, Fort Madison
Lee County’s Community Garden and Senior Produce Box project will support the Live Healthy Lee County Coalition to develop and implement a community garden project. Produce grown from the garden will be donated and used towards a senior community produce box project in rural areas where access to healthy foods is limited for older residents.

Living Proof Exhibit, Davenport
The Using Art to Improve the Quality of Life of Quad Citizens Touched by Cancer project offered 18 art sessions to people touched by cancer, with four bilingual programs offered in Muscatine and the remainder in Scott and Rock Island counties. Participants created something beautiful while having the opportunity to talk to and connect with others impacted by cancer.

Muscatine Center for Social Action, Muscatine
The Rapid Rehousing Food Stability Program project supports healthy nutritional behaviors and enables better food choices for families living in poverty. Participating families receive a healthy food delivery on the last week of their SNAP calendar month, a week they typically experience a food shortage. The program provides each family with a crock pot, healthy food, and recipes made with affordable ingredients.

Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging, Waterloo
The Senior Freezer Meal Prep and Cooking project aims to decrease meals that offer poor nutritional quality and help increase consumption of protein, vegetables and high quality grains. Seniors in the cities of Bellevue, Marshalltown, Waterloo, and Waukon, will be provided with a new slow cooker, education on food safety, and already prepared meal kits for storage in a freezer. Meal prep will be done in a group setting to create a social event and help combat loneliness and social isolation.