Creating a culture of health in our state cannot be done by one person or one entity. It takes a team of dedicated people who can motivate the community to get engaged and make healthy change happen. Cherokee County has made great strides in improving their obesity rate through a collaboration of many partners. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) noticed and offered one of those partners a chance to increase the momentum.
High school teacher Christina Cody was selected to participate in RWJF’s Culture of Health Leaders program in 2017. This highly competitive program is a leadership development opportunity for people working in every field and profession who want to use their influence to advance health and equity. According to the RWJF website, “our leaders will be prepared to collaborate and provide transformative leadership to address health equity in their communities.”
In a rural county that didn’t have the best health indicators data, Cody became active in her community and used her influence as a teacher to help create fit2getherCCSD, a wellness initiative created by students. By joining forces with Eat Smart Move More Cherokee County, the public health taskforce of a local community organization, KNOW(2), Cody and her youth leaders began to make a difference.
“As a high school teacher and student wellness advocate, I believe youth empowerment and partnerships can create the Culture of Health all people deserve while also building tomorrow’s community leaders,” says Cody.
Through the Culture of Health Leaders program, Cody is connected to a national network of leaders in areas such as futures and change management, health equity, and social innovation. These leaders provide valuable knowledge and coaching to strengthen individual leadership plans. Cody’s plan consists of self-assessment, leadership development goals, and plans for continued growth and impact after the program is completed. During her third and final year of the program, she will implement a strategic Culture of Health initiative.
According to their website, Cody’s chosen initiative will focus on chronic disease and childhood obesity. She says, “My rural southeastern community of Cherokee County, faces chronic disease and childhood obesity trends that continue to plague our families, dangerously diminishing the quality of life for ethnically, socioeconomically, and geographically distributed groups. Our youth can be powerful forces in identifying community needs and in being agents of change. Students, schools, and partners can be collective impact champions in meeting those needs, ensuring that health for all is a priority.”
Christina Cody will be one of three keynotes speakers at the Leadership Summit for Healthy Communities, October 29-30, at the Spartanburg Marriott. She’ll provide insight into the RWJF Culture of Leaders program, and motivation for attendees to go home and have an impact on the health of their community. Catch her address on Tuesday, October 30 in Spartanburg.
Coalition work isn’t always easy. Often, health professionals and community partners can get burned out on their hard work towards achieving healthy eating and active living goals. At the 2018 Leadership Summit for Healthy Communities, keynote speaker Fran Butterfoss, Ph.D., MSEd., will reignite the spark for community coalition work.
During her keynote presentation, “Ignite: Getting Your Coalition or Partnership Fired Up for Change,” Butterfoss will address the challenges that community coalitions face when working with limited resources to accomplish their goals.
“Health professionals and community partners often feel burned out by working harder, not smarter to accomplish organizational or community goals related to promoting healthy eating and active living,” says Butterfoss. “They may be frustrated by difficulties in recruiting and retaining diverse and active partners, finding sustainable financial and material resources, resolving conflict and making decisions or creating effective strategic/action plans.”
As President of Coalitions Work, a group that helps coalitions build and sustain community change efforts to promote health and prevent disease, Butterfoss has seen these scenarios play out repeatedly. She’s even written best-selling books about the topics: Coalitions and Partnerships in Community Health and Ignite! Getting your Community Coalition Fired Up for Change.
Like the name of her second book, her keynote presentation at the Leadership Summit for Healthy Communities will focus on four stages of building coalitions:
Before You Build It,
Build It,
Make it Work, and
Sustain It!
She will talk about the structure and processes that coalitions and partnerships need to manage themselves; develop their staff, members, and leaders; plan and carry out effective strategies; evaluate what they do; and sustain themselves long enough to accomplish their goals. Butterfoss will provide attendees with the spark and practical tools that will help to build capacity for community work.
“Coalitions are powerful vehicles for building the skills of professionals and volunteers, thereby empowering them to advocate and act on behalf of priority populations within their communities,” says Butterfoss.
With clients such as the Alliance for a Healthier South Carolina, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Cancer Society, Butterfoss and her team at Coalitions Work have taught countless public health coalitions and partnerships—across the country and at all levels—to build and sustain community change efforts. Their work empowers these groups by building capacity and enhancing their ability to effect positive changes in the health of the communities they serve.
Butterfoss earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing and master’s degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania. After 15 years, she decided to get her doctor’s degree in public health promotion and education from the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health while her husband was stationed at Fort Jackson. In addition to her work at Coalitions Work, she is a professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School.
The Leadership Summit for Healthy Communities will be held October 29-30 at the Spartanburg Marriott in Spartanburg, SC. It’s the only statewide conference that unites healthy eating and active living content specialists and decision makers from South Carolina. Early bird registration is open until October 5th. Scholarships are available for those who are in need of a reduced registration fee.
More than 100 teenagers and adults from across South Carolina attended the 6th Annual Youth Summit on July 27th at The Meeting Place Church in Columbia to learn about youth-led policy changes and how to advocate effectively. Hosted by the Healthy Young People Empowerment (HYPE) Project and Eat Smart Move More South Carolina, the Summit featured Leading to Change, a nationally-recognized team building and engagement training agency.
“Leading to Change brought tons of energy to this year’s Summit,” says Trimease K. Carter, ESMMSC youth engagement manager. “Their sessions incorporated singing, dancing, inspiration, and motivation. Based on evaluations and feedback, both youth and adult participants had a great time.”
HYPE Project teams from Orangeburg, Anderson, Kershaw, Laurens, Spartanburg, and Richland counties presented videos on their successes in establishing policy and environmental changes in their communities. Videos highlighted the worked youth have done to implement the following changes:
Kershaw County: Youth continued their healthy food choices campaign within the community and the school cafeteria by developing an outreach program to teach residents and students about benefits of making healthy food choices.
Anderson County: The HYPE Team continued their safe physical activity project through park cleanup, installing a Born Learning Trail, and ADA accessible sidewalks.
Orangeburg County: In addition to continuing their park improvements project, youth focused on educating the public on the dangers of tobacco use.
Laurens County: The HYPE Team led an effort to revitalize an abandoned ballfield for community use.
Spartanburg County: The HYPE Team is working with Spartanburg City Parks and Recreation Department as teen ambassadors to help engage more teens with programs and activities.
Richland County: Youth are working with administrators at W.A. Perry Middle School to create safer routes to school for students.
This year’s Youth Summit also featured six breakout sessions addressing leadership and youth engagement skills. Leading to Change led four breakout sessions where attendees learned about the true colors of their powerful leadership style and about diversity, culture, and commonalities you can’t see.
Kathryn Johnson of LiveWell Kershaw, led a session for youth titled “Hope is Not a Plan of Action.” During this session, attendees identified something they wished to accomplish, and took that “hope” and turned it into “action” by developing a realistic plan.
Finally, three students from TedXYouth@Columbia facilitated a student-led session where participants had a reasoned, informed discussion around a set of current, controversial topics.
“This year’s breakout sessions were a great mix for youth and adults. We hope that attendees learned something that they can take back to their families, schools, churches, and communities,” says Carter.
You can see pictures from the Youth Summit on the ESMMSC Facebook page, and all HYPE Team Videos are on YoutTube.
Communities across the country are reshaping their neighborhoods, schools, and businesses toward health, opportunity, and equity. Each of these trailblazing communities—urban, rural, tribal, large, and small—face a myriad of challenges. The RWJF Culture of Health Prize celebrates communities like these that are making health a priority for all—especially for those facing the greatest barriers to good health.
Spartanburg County was one of those qualifying communities in 2015 when they won the RWJF Culture of Health Prize. County leaders were facing an alarming teen pregnancy rate, high hospital costs associated with low-income residents and social determinants of health, and a need to revitalize, re-energize, and reshape life for residents of the Northside neighborhood. Leaders poured their energy into these initiatives and turned things around. The RWJF Culture of Health Prize recognized their efforts.
RWJF wants to hear your community’s inspiring story of collaboration, action, and results. Tell them how you are working together to ensure that all residents have the opportunity to thrive. Your community could win the RWJF Culture of Health Prize.
Up to 10 winners will each receive $25,000, join a growing network of Prize-winning communities, and share their accomplishments, lessons learned, and stories with the nation.
Talyah Washington, 6, and King Rivera, 7, may not have understood what the blue ribbon was for to officially open an “all-inclusive” playground last week. They just wanted to have fun.
They also may not have realized that the person who was the instigator for the playground is an 8-year-old little girl with big dreams.
Talyah was born with Down Syndrome. King suffered a traumatic brain injury four years ago in a car accident. Despite cognitive and motor skill challenges, both are children who love to play.
The playground located at Lemon Park in Barnwell started with a question raised by Izzy Brandt to her parents, Stephanie and Shaun Brandt. “I took her to a Buddy Walk about two years ago. It’s a fundraising walk for kids with special needs,” Stephanie said. That experience made an impression on young Izzy who also has made friends with one special needs child.
Then, one day about a year ago they were at Lemon Park and Izzy noted that there wasn’t any playground equipment for kids with special needs. “They want to play too,” she told her mom.
Izzy and Stephanie contacted Pam Davis, director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Barnwell. Davis thought about the idea and decided to write a grant proposal to the S.C. Parks and Recreation Department (PARD).
She was notified that a grant for $12,000 was approved “but that was not enough for this type of playground.”
Axis 1 came to the rescue with a $10,000 grant through the Eat Smart, Move More Program.
The partnership resulted in the purchase and installation of a multi-level climber, “Cozy Cocoon”, seesaw, congos, and cabassa.
“The multi-level climber is where kids of all abilities can play,” explained Davis. “It helps improve motor skills, coordination, strength, and dexterity. This leads to self-achievement and greater self-esteem.”
