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 The
Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program (CCROPP), has
been awarded a $400,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)
to improve opportunities for physical activity and access to healthy,
affordable foods for children and families.
Based on demonstrated success in increasing active living and healthy
eating, the San Joaquin Valley is one of nine leading sites selected for
the Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities initiative. This $44 million
national program is RWJF’s newest and largest investment to date in
community-based solutions to childhood obesity. By late 2009 it will
include approximately 70 communities across the country.
“We are pleased to receive this grant award,” said Genoveva Islas-Hooker,
regional program coordinator for CCROPP. “This initiative will provide
leadership development for residents who are working towards creating
healthier communities for children and families by improving access to
healthy foods and physical activity resources,” Islas-Hooker added. “The
grant helps us to build on the work that we’ve done over the past three
years with the support of The California Endowment and allows us to
advance our obesity prevention efforts.”
“Achieving the scale and scope of changes necessary to create healthier
communities would not be possible without the involvement of community
members,” said Susan Elizabeth, senior consultant with Tulare-based
Capacity Builders, Inc. “Unless we are able to enlist and harness the
power of community members who live in this region, the changes aren’t
going to happen soon enough, if at all,” Elizabeth explained. “We can’t
do this alone.”
The San Joaquin Valley is home to more than 3.8 million people, with
over 34 percent of the population under age 20. The region experiences
some of the worst health outcomes in the state with alarming childhood
and adult rates of obesity, diabetes and other chronic conditions. In
the San Joaquin Valley, one out of three children are overweight or
obese.
“In many of our communities, residents can’t easily buy healthy foods,”
explained Islas-Hooker. “In addition, many neighborhoods are designed in
ways that make it difficult and unsafe for children and adults to be
physically active outdoors,” she added.
Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities is a cornerstone of RWJF’s five-year,
$500 million commitment to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic in the
United States by 2015.
“The program will provide replicable, real-time solutions for addressing
the epidemic,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO
of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “We expect that this vital work
by the Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program will help
the San Joaquin Valley become the kind of region where all children can
have healthier lives.”
The eight other cities or regions named as leading sites and receiving
four-year grants are Baldwin Park and Oakland in California; Chicago;
Columbia, Mo., Louisville, Ky.; Seattle; Somerville, Mass.; and
Washington, DC. All were selected because of strong leadership and a
readiness to make lasting change in their communities. Soon they will be
serving as models and mentors for approximately 60 additional
partnerships to be funded in December 2009.
RWJF today released a call for proposals for that second round of
Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities funding. Partnerships from across the
United States and its territories are eligible to apply. Preference will
be given to applicants from communities in 15 states where rates of
childhood obesity are particularly high—Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas,
Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North
Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.
About five dozen grants of up to $360,000 will be awarded to qualified
community partnerships. The deadline for brief proposals is Feb. 3.
Visit
www.healthykidshealthycommunities.org to download the call for
proposals and obtain additional information.
About the Central California
Regional Obesity Prevention Program
The Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program is committed
to obesity prevention through place-based policy change that supports
healthy eating and active living throughout the San Joaquin Valley. This
unique comprehensive approach is being carried out by partnerships
between public health departments, community-based organizations and
community councils in Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin,
Stanislaus, and Tulare counties. The program was developed by the
Central California Public Health Partnership and is administered through
California State University, Fresno. CCROPP is also funded by The
California Endowment. For more information, please visit:
www.ccropp.org.
About Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities
Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities, a national program of the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation (RWJF), advances community-based solutions that will
help reverse the childhood obesity epidemic. It focuses on changing
policies and environments to support active living and healthy eating
among children and families. The program places special emphasis on
reaching children who are at highest risk for obesity on the basis of
income, race/ethnicity and geographic location. It will support RWJF’s
efforts to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States
by 2015.
The Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities national program office is housed
at Active Living by Design, part of the North Carolina Institute for
Public Health at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health in
Chapel Hill. Established in 2001 as a national program of the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation, Active Living By Design now serves funders and
partnerships across the country that are fostering community-led change
to build a culture of active living and healthy eating.
About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and
health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest
philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care
of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of
organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve
comprehensive, meaningful and timely change.
For more than 35 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment
and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health
and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans
lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects
to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit
www.rwjf.org.
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