The Douglas County Community Foundation is offering Livewell Community Wellness Grants with the mission to support the health of Douglas County residents. This grant program specifically aims to create conditions that lead to healthy eating and physically active lifestyles within the community, directly aligning with the foundation's broader goal of fostering well-being.
The target beneficiaries of these grants are residents of Douglas County, Kansas, with a particular focus on children and youth. The impact goals are centered on reducing the risk for lifestyle-related chronic diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, by improving diets and activity patterns.
The grants prioritize initiatives that adopt policy, systems, and environmental changes to support healthy eating and physical activity in various everyday environments. These include childcare centers, schools, after-school programs, workplaces, community centers, neighborhoods, and places of worship. Additionally, programs that directly help children and youth make lasting improvements to their diets and activity patterns are also a key focus.
While specific measurable results are not explicitly detailed in the provided text, the expected outcomes revolve around a healthier Douglas County population with reduced incidences of chronic diseases. The foundation's strategic priority is clearly to implement community-wide changes and educational programs that encourage healthier lifestyles. Their theory of change appears to be that by creating supportive environments and offering targeted programs, residents, especially younger generations, will adopt and maintain healthier eating and activity habits, thereby improving overall community health and reducing the burden of preventable diseases.
