City wins $250K High 5 grant
The city of Bonners Ferry, announced Tuesday that they were the recipitants of the $250,000 High 5 Community Transformation Grant and will now look into where the funds will be utilized best.
The grant is administered over a three year period, with this period starting in 2017 and completing in 2019. In the first six months, the High 5 group will be completing a community assessment as part of their technical assistance portion of the grant. After this assessment has been completed, the city, working with community partners will be identifying future projects that align with the foundation goals.
“The City is thrilled for the chance to see what kinds of opportunities will come from the High 5 grant,” City Planner Lisa Ailport said, “and while $250,000 seems like a lot of money, leveraging these dollars with other funding opportunities may lead to bigger successes across the community. The city, working with our community partners and Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation will, as the name entails, look to transform our community!”
The purpose of the High Five Community Transformation Grant is to develop a greater number of communities that encourage healthy eating, physical activity and the establishment of safe and healthy environments for children.
“Idaho cities play a lead role in creating healthier environments for our youth. Each awardee has a strong desire to create environments for healthier lifestyles and we are honored to help guide the transformation,” said Kendra Witt-Doyle, Executive Director of the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health. “The Foundation believes that health doesn’t happen in a doctor’s office—it starts in communities.”
The Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health is providing the base funding for the grants. The grants will include monetary and technical assistance, for three community partnerships in Idaho.
Precisely how and where the money will be spent will be determined through a collaborative process between community leaders and the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health.
The Community Transformation Grant is intended to engage communities across Idaho to organize collaboration among multiple sectors – education, healthcare, non-profits, government, business and philanthropy – to focus on the reduction and/or prevention of childhood obesity.
Community partnerships will engage and mobilize the community to create healthier environments for youth. Specifically, partnerships will focus on: Cross-sector collaboration to design strategies that focus on the reduction and/or prevention of childhood obesity, improvement of healthy eating, physical activity, and the built environment for youth.
Funds may be used for a range of activities to create strategies to increase physical activity and access to healthy, affordable foods for youth. The exact use of the funds will be determined after a process of community brainstorming, buy-in and planning.
High Five Children’s Health Collaborative is an initiative of the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health. It is a statewide effort that engages Idahoans to reduce childhood obesity.
High Five Idaho is working with a collaborative of partners and grant-winning cities to promote healthy communities around the state.
The Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health, Inc., is a nonprofit charitable foundation established in 2001 by Blue Cross of Idaho. The creation of the Foundation stemmed from our desire to improve the health of all Idahoans through wellness and prevention programs. To promote a healthier Idaho, the Foundation engages in collaborative partnerships, health programs and community giving. We are committed to addressing Idaho’s health needs.
Ailport said the City is still learning about all the steps that need to be taken, and as more information becomes available, the city is excited to share every step of the process.
A 501(c)(3) organization that serves Idaho, the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
More information is available at www.bcidahofoundation.org