TAKE THE LEAD..….
HELP MOTIVATE, ACTIVATE AND ENERGIZE YOUR COMMUNITY!
STEPS YOU CAN TAKE!
Mini-Grants for Healthy Community Development
Ten to twenty (20) grant awards will be made available to municipalities through a competitive application process. Community teams are eligible to apply for grants ranging from $2,500 up to $10,000. Community teams need not attend the Academy to apply for a grant; however, those that have attended the 2007 Leaders’ Academy will receive first consideration.
The 2007 Healthy Communities Mini-Grant application package is now posted. [PDF | form only in Word]
*Deadline for application submission is June 22, 2007
At-A-Glance: 2006 Healthy Community Development Mini-grant Initiatives includes the organization, grant accomplishments, immediate benefits and future plans of 2006 grantees.
Annual NJ Leaders’ Academy for Healthy Community Development
In May 2006, the inaugural Leaders’ Academy trained 150 people to develop healthy, active communities. The target audience for the Leaders’ Academy is health departments, educators, mayors, health educators, planners, residents— anyone interested in healthy communities. Additionally, 20 competitive mini-grants each were given to 20 communities groups to implement a component of a healthy community initiative.
The 2nd Academy was held on May 18, 2007.
About NJCPFS:
The New Jersey Council on Physical Fitness and Sports is a legislated, 16 member, Governor appointed, advisory Council within the Department of Health and Senior Services. NJCPFS is dedicated to health, nutrition, wellness and recreation and is charged with developing safe, healthful and enjoyable physical fitness and sports programs. The Council works to promote public awareness and to ensure that all citizens of New Jersey have the opportunity to pursue a more healthful lifestyle.
The purpose of the Leaders Academy is to Motivate, Activate and Energize communities to make healthy changes at the community level and improve public health by decreasing obesity and its associated diseases. Healthy changes that can work include: increasing physical activity; improving diets; physical changes in the built environment; and smarter planning that encourage rather than hinder physical activity.
Remember when you walked or bicycled to school? Would you do it now, or let your nine-year-old follow the route you used to take? Today, our dependence on the automobile encourages sprawling developments that place common destinations well beyond comfortable walking and biking distances.
Putting it another way, we're blocked from walking or biking because we don't feel safe doing it. And even if we did, the destinations we want to reach – shopping, schools, parks, work places – are often located too far away.
What we need are neighborhoods and communities where we feel safe during that walk or bike ride. Unfortunately, most of us live in places that weren't designed to make bicycling and walking easy, safe, or convenient.
Look around you. We've got a "growing" problem with our kids. The fact is, they're getting heavier on average, and they're getting heavier quickly. Recent studies show a dramatic increase in childhood obesity. Some researchers even think that the current generation may not enjoy the same life expectancy their parents had. |
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Family Health Services
